17-Year-Old Tia Smith Achieves 11 Ones in CSEC Exams

Seventeen-year-old Tia Smith has accomplished what most students can only dream of—achieving 11 grade ones in her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations. A student of Campion College in St Andrew, Jamaica, Tia successfully passed 15 subjects overall, including 11 CSECs and five CAPE subjects.

Her mother, speaking to The Jamaica Gleaner, expressed her immense pride in Tia’s achievement, stating, “It couldn’t get any better… I love all my kids, but, trust me, you see, for her, up, down, round the corner? Everywhere I will go for her.”

Remarkably, Tia passed Mathematics in grade 10 and completed the remaining 10 CSEC subjects while in fifth form. Reflecting on her success, Tia told The Gleaner, “I’m really proud of myself and extremely grateful that all my effort and hard work paid off.” She also shared that she had been anxious before receiving the results, but her dedication ultimately paid off.

Tia credits her family as her main motivator and says she always strives to make them proud. With ambitions of becoming either a civil or architectural engineer, she revealed that thoughts of her future career push her to stay focused on her academics. “When I feel like not doing work, I think about my future and what I want to become,” Tia explained.

An introvert at heart, Tia enjoys designing floor plans and sketching aspects of homes, particularly the exteriors, during her downtime. Offering words of encouragement to those who may feel discouraged, Tia urged them to “be strong and persevere. As bad as things may seem… find something that motivates you and make it your driving force.”