Moesha Johnson Overcomes Odds to Ace CSEC Exams

Seventeen-year-old Moesha Johnson, a grade-12 student at Maggotty High School in St. Elizabeth, has overcome enormous financial odds and other challenges, to secure eight subjects in the 2022 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

The youngster now has 10 subjects, having sat two while in grade 10 – Principles of Business and English Language – which she passed with distinctions (grade one).

For this year’s CSEC sitting, Moesha attained five distinctions in Biology, Physics, Food and Nutrition, Information Technology and Human and Social Biology, and three credits (grade two) in Chemistry, Geography and Mathematics.

Moesha is no stranger to academic success, as she has consistently been a top finisher since starting school, pointing out that “I have been coming first in my classes from basic school up until 11th grade”.

Yet, young Moesha’s journey to her educational success at Maggotty High was not without challenges.

She recounts starting each day from as early as 5:00 a.m., to make the one-hour journey from Brighton to Maggotty, in order to get to school on time.

“For me to get to school, I’d have to take a vehicle from where I live to the main road to catch the bus. If the bus leaves me, I have to take two extra taxis to come to school,” Moesha shares.

The aspiring physiotherapist sometimes gets home as late as 8:00 p.m., whenever she stays behind at school to attend extra lessons.

“When I have extra classes, I am always worried about how I am going to get home, because it is even more challenging to go home than to come to school. Going home I have to take three [taxis],” she tells JIS News.

Moesha describes her academic journey as “very interesting”, noting that “I have moments where I was unmotivated and wanted to give up”.

“Then I saw circumstances that I don’t want to see myself or my children in, when I am older. So, because of that and things that I have been through, every time I feel unmotivated, I tell myself that I am not doing this for anybody else… I am doing this for myself, so that I can be a better individual,” she points out.

Moesha recounts that when the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the education system to online in 2020, she fell behind in her studies due to a compact schedule.

Consequently, she says she had to work twice as hard when face-to-face classes resumed, in order to push her grades back up to where she was averaging over 80 per cent.

The youngster emphasised that this thrust was fuelled by her drive and determination to succeed.

“It was a packed schedule for me, and I had a lot going on then. I had normal house chores, I was also helping out with two children at home, and I had a lot doing. It kind of affected my academic performance, in a sense. But I came back to school and decided that I would have a next go at this, to do better,” she says.

To do so, Moesha utilised her weekends to study, using YouTube videos as a source and guide to broaden her knowledge of topics.

“I’d have to study the topics before examinations, or months before and practice every day. I hated physics. So, because I know I was weak in that subject, I’d sit at home on weekends and I’d practice the formulas, I’d watch YouTube videos to ensure that I grasped the topics that we did or what we would be doing, so I would understand them more. That was how I picked up my grades,” she explains.

The teenager says whenever she feels demotivated, she reminds herself that she is building a foundation for a brighter future.

Moesha is being raised by a single mother, assisted by her guardians who ensure her well-being is safeguarded when her mom travels overseas on the farm-work programme.

Moesha’s faith in God also helps to keep her grounded. When she isn’t focused on her academics, the demure teenager finds time to read and draw, which she says serve as stress relievers.

“I am a child of God, and I am very responsible. In my free time, I love to read books [and] I enjoy drawing. So, when I am overly stressed and feeling unmotivated, I draw to remind myself that I am actually good at something,” she tells JIS News.

Principal of Maggotty High School, Sean Graham, describes Moesha as a very diligent student who consistently performs well academically.

“Moesha’s performance is something that is heartening, because it took place in the middle of the pandemic. Teachers had to go the extra mile to ensure that students were learning; they had to activate the Google classroom spaces to make sure work was there. Students had challenges and, therefore, that’s why I want to really commend Moesha and all the students who did well in the pandemic,” Mr. Graham shares.

The Principal tells JIS News that he is happy to celebrate Moesha’s success in her CSEC exams, noting that the challenges she has faced along her sojourn at the institution makes the undertaking extra special.

“In talking to Moesha, I get a sense of someone who is really focused and driven; she wants to make a difference to the global space. So, I think that that is something that is driving her… [and] she wants to make her mother proud,” Mr. Graham points out.

Moesha’s mentor and Physics and Chemistry teacher, Leighton Thorpe, is optimistic about the prospects for his protégé.

“Moesha is the type of person who, if you ask a question and she starts talking, everybody listens. She is a person who has great potential and, with more guidance, she will definitely accomplish her dream of becoming a physiotherapist,” he says.