WILLIAMS
DESPITE ALL the odds stacked against her, Michelle Williams sat the 2005 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations and gained eight passes.
Michelle, who hails from the inner-city community of Majesty Gardens and attended Denham Town High School in west Kingston, told The Gleaner she was elated when she got the news of her achievement.
"I was very happy because I struggled to get where I am and I only have my mother to support me," she said with a smile.
She noted that she was driven to succeed and "shame" her father who has not supported her.
Michelle said that, although it was the norm for teenagers in her community to get pregnant and become side-tracked from their dreams, the support she got from her mother Theresa Sutherland, a janitor, has helped her remain focused.
The oldest of three children, Michelle said there were times she felt she could not make it because of poverty and other issues she had to face daily.
"Sometimes I went to school without lunch money but my teachers were always there for me and there was a lunch programme at school which assisted me in getting by each day," she said.
She said her diskette, which had the information for her School-Based Assessment for information technology, was stolen twice. However, this did not deter her.
Michelle had to start over twice but managed to gain top marks in the subject.
"I strive not to be better than someone else, but to be better than myself," is the motto that guides her life.
Michelle, who wants to become a computer specialist and entrepreneur, said she wants to pursue a degree at the University of Technology but is unable to afford it right now. She said she was in the process of finding a job to assist her in fulfilling her dream of going to university.
When not studying, Michelle enjoys partying and listening to music.
"I was very excited for her because it is not easy being a single mother, living in the inner city and working part-time," her mother said with pride. "Michelle is a role mother for her sister and I am very, very, happy for her."
- P.F.
