André Williams, STAR Writer

Seventeen-year-old Sowhana Pommells may tell you that being an honour roll student through maintaining an A average every year of your high school life is not easy. However, she will add that it did not come as a surprise when she obtained 10 ones, with nine of them being distinctions at CSEC.

This Immaculate standout recently achieved the feat when she sat all 10 subjects at the 2012 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams.

Foundation

In the process, the well-groomed 17-year-old has begun to lay the foundation for her planned future as an oncologist, thereby setting the stage for others, including fellow inner-city siblings and friends to follow in her footsteps.

Sowhana earned distinctions in the following subject areas: biology, human and social biology, physics and english language. She also gained distinctions in English literature, mathematics, information technology, social studies and Spanish.

The 10th grade one achievement for the Matthews Lane, Kingston, native came with chemistry.

Sowhana credits, among other things, her no-nonsense approach to her schoolwork.

She told THE STAR, "Sometimes I am so caught up in my books that I don't pay attention to the outside world ... I enjoy doing creative things ... I don't normally do things that other kids my age do ... I don't have a lot of teenage friends, I'm more in tune to the adults."

Sowhana's mother, Lisa Campbell, attested to this.

She said, "Sowhana is just an outstanding girl ... (She is) always maintaining her A average. She is a role model to a lot of adults."

Sowhana also told THE STAR that she balances her schoolwork with her hobbies.

Moral code

"I enjoy going to church and swimming, being a well-rounded individual not just in academics, you must have some moral code that you live by. I love to read, at the moment I am reading City of Glass: The Mortal instruments by Cassandra Claire."

Already young Sowhana is being scouted by several overseas universities who are prepared to assist in furthering her education and development.

Though humbled by the added attention and rewards being an A student brings, Sowhana is not too keen to leave her beloved Immaculate High just yet.

She said, "I want to continue my studies, by extension attending sixth form at Immaculate only, it's that simple."

Sowhana told THE STAR her advice or encouragement to students who were not pleased with their results was rather simple, once they are willing to listen.

Sowhana expressed, "Pick yourself up, brush yourself off and try again ... because when you are at rock bottom the only place you can go is up again."

Meanwhile, the young scholar told THE STAR that learning is not considered a challenge to her, she accepts her accomplishments as rewards for her parents because to her, they have invested so much from nothing towards her advancement.