Doting Jovia-Roy Jaganaught isn't shy about identifying mom, Nicole Lewis, as the source of her inspiration. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Freelance Photographer

NINE ONES and a two! Glenmuir High's brainiac Jovia-Roy Jaganaught is basking in the afterglow of phenomenal success in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations.

Though soft-spoken and reserved, Jovia-Roy exemplifies the proverb, still waters run deep. Very deep.

But there is an element to her accomplishments that she readily admits to - the relationship she has with her mother, Nicole Lewis.

"She started off slowly," Lewis said of Jovia-Roy, who first attended the Alley Infant School in Vere, Clarendon.

"It wasn't until first grade that she began to improve towards becoming the light that she is today," she added.

A mother's tough love

How she got Jovia-Roy to focus is a testament to a mother's tough love.

"(Early on) I took her up and started working with her. When she reached grade one, she came second in her class, and one of my most heartfelt moments was her actually thanking me for 'making me bend down before the wall'. I used to tell her to bend down before the wall and learn the words that she couldn't spell"

Jovia-Roy was only too keen to interject.

"She would give me a paper written with words, for example, that I spelt wrongly, and alongside them would be the correct spelling. She put me in front of the wall and said, 'Learn to spell them!'"

So what about the bending?

Lewis said that she asked her child to kneel before God and ask for understanding while studying. The Lord delivered. In spades.

Jovia-Roy got distinctions in English language, literature, mathe-matics, physics, chemistry, informa-tion technology, Caribbean history, Spanish and geography. She scored a two in biology, which is a pet subject of hers. That last grade was a bitter pill to swallow.

Using up techniques

She says that she doesn't wait for the night before an exam to cram. Her technique is to listen in class and reinforce when she gets home.

"These habits have served me well. Late-night studying has never worked for me. I usually forget stuff and panic when exam time comes around," she revealed.

Lewis has two sons as well, Xoshian, four, and 14-year-old Albert, who is in third form at Glenmuir.

"The younger son is now at infant school and is doing well in his class,"she said. "I get Bs from Albert. Jovia and I are working on him so he can realise his potential."

Meanwhile, the single mom is going all out to prove that education is the foundation of success. She enrolled at the University College of the Caribbean earlier this year, matriculating for a first-degree course in business administration.

Confident of Jovia-Roy's ability to transfer their winning ways to her brothers, she has decided that she, too, must make her mark on academia, a pursuit she abandoned when she was a teenager to give birth to Jovia-Roy.

"Life is what you make it," she added. "I want to prove to my children that anyone can make mistakes. Our road wasn't easy, but if you put in the work you will get the rewards."

mario.james@gleanerjm.com