Education is more than just book learning and memorizing what teachers tell you, according to Gabrielle Moss, the 2014 recipient of the prestigious All-Bahamas Merit Scholarship (ABMS). To her, education is about developing as a whole person - and that includes academics.
"You also have to develop yourself morally, knowing the difference between right and wrong; developing yourself socially and being able to relate to other people; and learning how to help others as well. Education also means making your own mistakes as well. We learn from history so we won't be doomed to repeat it. When you make mistakes, it really drives it home and you begin to better yourself as well. So I think education is not just changing yourself and bettering yourself academically, not just learning new things, delving into new aspects, but it also encompasses developing yourself morally, developing the whole being - not just the academic side," said the 16-year-old Bishop Michael Eldon School graduate.
Gabrielle received a $140,000 four-year scholarship, which will go toward her studies in mathematics and statistics with a focus on actuarial science at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., where the annual tuition is $67,777.
Gabrielle is the 19th person to be awarded the coveted ABMS in the 21-year history of the award that started in 1993 (the scholarship was not awarded in 2001 and 1994). She is the seventh female student to win and the third recipient to attend Johns Hopkins University.
The award is funded by the Lyford Cay Foundation, the Ministry of Education and The Central Bank of The Bahamas.
Winning the award was a major milestone for the teen. When she got a call from the scholarship committee, she thought she had received a merit award and not the top award.
Shocked
"Initially when I got the call, I heard them say I'd gotten the $25,000 award, and I was still thrilled. I called my mom [Wendy] and said I got second place. It wasn't until actually right before I was getting on the flight [from Grand Bahama] to come to Nassau that I got an email saying I had to write a thank you. When I saw that I was wondering if I had actually gotten the All-Bahamas Merit award, and the next day when I found out I'd gotten it for certain, I was just ecstatic."
Gabrielle said when she found out she was awarded the scholarship, she was in a daze, but was thrilled.
"It was difficult for me to grasp on to the concept that I'd gotten it, because I was so happy thinking I had gotten the $25,000, and then come to see I had gotten it [ABMS]."
In the midst of her happiness, she was humbled, because the result showed that "God can do amazing things as well".
"It really was a major moment of my life to say the least," she said.
Being awarded the ABMS was by no means about luck for the teen, who for years has shown commitment to hard work and studiousness. Moss has been focused and disciplined to the point of earning herself an impressive 4.11 grade point average; she passed nine Bahamas General Certificates of Secondary Education (BGCSE) exams with eight A grades and one B grade, and scored 2,080 on her Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
In her final year of high school, she took three advanced placement (AP) courses -- chemistry, English language and calculus. She sat one BGCSE in English literature, of which she still awaits results.
Her academic prowess by itself is astounding, but she was able to engage in a number of extracurricular activities to ensure her career as a well-rounded student. She complemented her academics with involvement in a number of activities. She was the national and Grand Bahama winner for piano playing in the National Arts Festival; the winner of the 2014 Martin Luther King Essay Competition and the winner of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture Pacesetter Award. She also played softball and threw discus for her school. She participated in the Interact Club, Student Christian Movement and Alpha Kappa Alpha 20 Pearls Program. She was also her school's deputy head girl and co-captain of her church's youth group.
Gabrielle is arguably one of the country's best and brightest students coming out of the class of 2014. It's an honor she will take, albeit humbly.
"It surprises me a bit because people think I'm smart when I'm just trying to do my best, but it touches my heart," said Gabrielle. "It's not something I hold on to in a sense. It's not something I let go to my head [because] it's not something I'm used to," she said. "I'm really humble when people tell me that [I'm smart]. I say thank you and I really and truly appreciate when people tell me that."
She especially appreciates when her family members tell her that she's doing well, and credits her work ethic to her parents. The daughter of Gregory Moss, a lawyer, and Wendy Moss, a part-time mathematics lecturer at The College of The Bahamas, the young Moss believes both of her parents are diligent individuals, but her love for mathematics comes from her mother, whom she lives with.
The journey
Gabrielle said her journey to applied mathematics and actuarial science as a course of study at the university level was a process. She grew up loving math and had plans to become a college professor like her mother, but when she really considered her passion, she realized she did not enjoy teaching and started looking at different careers in mathematics. Her mother suggested actuarial science a few years ago. Not knowing anything about the field, the scholar did her research and liked the high concentration of mathematics and statistics involved. What is particularly appealing to her is the work involved in looking at past financial events and examining current events to calculate risks and forecast future trends. She also likes that the work allows for the actuary to work independently doing research, collecting data and analyzing statistics, but would also give her the chance to collaborate with a group for information presentation."I do sometimes work better by myself, but I do not want a job where I'm in isolation," said Gabrielle. The course of study became more attractive to the teen when she realized actuaries were limited in The Bahamas.
As far as she can recall, the 2014 ABMS recipient has always been focused on her education. She said her mother drilled into her the importance of an education. Gabrielle believes she has matured over the years and has done what she needed to do to advance herself academically.
"In primary school I was doing it because my parents were telling me, even though I knew it was important, but when I came to grades eight...nine when I started BJC's [Bahamas Junior Certificate exam studies], I began to realize that this isn't just something I'm doing because my mom is telling me [that] I needed to do this. It's something I'm doing because I have to do it in order to succeed. If I want to fulfill my dreams I'm going to have to take the extra step and do it," she said.
With her mother's advice to begin preparing for exams in advance, Gabrielle's routine saw her taking every possible chance she had to study and review, including during her lunch breaks, and devoting at least an hour to each subject she had to study after arriving home, taking a bath and having her dinner.
As smart as she is, Gabrielle owns up to having her struggles -- for her it was language and literature. She never failed, but did not enjoy the English subjects as much as the sciences. It wasn't until her final year as she took AP language that she really began to appreciate and enjoy the subject.
The teen, who will commence her first year of university at age 16 (her 17th birthday is in November), is looking forward to attending university. She said it will be tough leaving her family for the first time, but she's looking forward to meeting new young people and commencing her studies.
She will depart in two weeks for Maryland. Her plans for the ensuing days include sorting out her visa, packing and trying to get in at least one beach day before she leaves, something she said she's been unable to do so far this summer.
"Really, I just want to enjoy my country before I go -- and make sure to buy things to carry before I go away. So many individuals have instructed me to purchase a six-pack of Goombay [soda] before I go, and to drink one every two or three weeks for the first three months that I will be there," she said.
Gabrielle said she also wants to spend as much time with family, and was able to do that in the past few days while on New Providence, where the majority of her family lives, before she heads back to Grand Bahama and then to university.
"Once I leave here and go back to Freeport, I most likely won't see them again until, God spare life, Christmas, so another thing I want to do is spend time with my family members while I have the time before I go," she said.
Gabrielle considers herself to be a diligent, resolved and empathetic individual.
"I'm diligent and resolved, because it's not only about being confident," she said. "Even when things seem tough I don't like to give up, that's not my nature."
She also described herself as creative musically and curious; she is a person who likes to engage in projects and help her mom in their garden.
The middle child of three, she is sandwiched between two brothers. Her elder brother, Edward is three years older and enrolled at The College of The Bahamas. She is older than her younger sibling William by five-and-a-half years. He will enter high school in the fall.
Role model
Gabrielle also admits to Edward being a role model to her. She described him as "intelligent" and said she used to refer to him as a "walking dictionary". What she admires most is his demeanor and his mannerly disposition.
"He gets along with people really well. He's a caring individual. The reason I really look up to him is because he's socially confident all the time, and I really admire the fact that he's not afraid to stand up, speak if he has to, go up to people and talk. That really encouraged me growing up, because socializing was not my forte, honestly. But when I saw him do it, it allowed me to be more comfortable. I was able to start reaching out and talk to individuals."
She also said she admired the fact that her brother always professed Christianity, no matter what others said, that he strived to get his education and promote the word of God.
"Being himself, no matter what others might say about him, really encouraged me as well, for when others tried to hurt or told me I couldn't do certain things," said Gabrielle.
She prays that she's a role model for William.
As she prepares to commence the next phase of her educational journey, the ABMS recipient's advice to her peers is to first know what they want, hold fast to their dreams and work hard for them, even though she said there would be people who will try to deter them and tell them that they can't make it.
"I'm a Christian so I always say you have to have faith. To be honest, I always thought I had faith, but it wasn't really until this year that I really had to realize that it's not all about you, and that you have to do your part -- you will have to work hard for your grades and you have to know what you have to do and what to leave alone. Know what you want, don't let other people tell you your dreams; don't let other people deter you from your dreams telling you it's not worth fighting for, and strive hard to go and achieve it and give it your all in the process," she said.
Previous All-Bahamas Merit Scholars
2013 -- Shannon Butler, University of St. Andrew's, medicine
2012 -- Theophilus Moss, John Hopkins University, mechanical engineering
2011 -- Jamia Moss, College of St. Benedict, biochemistry and Spanish
2009 -- Jenna Chaplin, University of The Pacific, fine arts and psychology
2008 -- Genymphas Higgs, Drexel University, biomedical engineering
2007 -- Lisa Rodgers, Brown University, education
2006 -- Kyle Chea, Vassar College, pre-med and foreign languages
2005 -- Andrea Culmer, McGill University, Chemistry and Pre-Med
2004 -- Sharelle Ferguson, Harvard University, social studies
2003 -- Sebastian Hutchinson, University of Pennsylvania, finance and accounting
2002 -- Peter Blair, Duke University, physics and mathematics
2001 -- No award given
2000 -- Ricardo Davis, Queen's University, Ontario, biochemistry
1999 -- Ryan Knowles, Boston University, accounting and finance
1998 -- Damian Archer, University of Western Ontario, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus - 1 year, chemistry, medicine
1997 -- Jehan Unwala, Tufts University, international relations and economics
1996 -- Rhys Powell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, electrical engineering and computer science
1995 -- Damian Forbes, Yale University, economics
1994 -- No award given
1993 -- Shireen Denise Donaldson, Johns Hopkins University, biochemistry

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