Some people shy away from the spotlight, and don't like to herald their academic achievements -- but that's not the case for Beautisca King -- when she stepped onto the stage to accept the Marjorie Davis Award for best overall performance by a government school student in the 2014 Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) she enjoyed every second of it.
The C.R. Walker School graduate who is currently a second semester freshman at the College of The Bahamas (COB) said she was happy she was home to accept her award, as she noticed so many other students weren't. And she does not hide from the fact that her focus is on getting an education, because for the 17-year-old biology major who aspires to become either a natural health physician or a chemical engineer education means "power." And she always wants to be the best that she can be. She also remembers the two distinct moments in her life, when she realized that she never wanted to be less than the best.
The first incident happened while in primary school. She had always been in the top five percent in her class -- one of those students who always did her homework, was a top achiever, and a standout amongst her peers. In sixth grade she received a Primary School Student of the Year nomination, an honor that she said showed her that she was outstanding among her peers, but it also made her realize that there were many other children in the country who were doing more than she was.
"That made me realize that I wanted to be better than them. I came to the realization that I needed to apply myself more," she said. The second enlightening moment for Beautisca came in junior school. She fell short of valedictorian honors at graduation. She said that made her realize that second place was not for her.
"I had been playing around and just passing," she recalled. "I didn't give it all my effort, but when I didn't get valedictorian it hit me and made me realize I needed to go into full throttle to stay on top. Second place isn't Beautisca King. I realized that education really gets you further and I pulled up my socks in tenth grade."
During her senior years, the name Beautisca King was always associated with academic excellence at C.R. Walker, and her peers sought her out daily for help. While she was proud of that, she said it also made her a little self-conscious about how she presented herself to people.
"There's a saying, 'She so smart 'til she stupid,' and I ensured that people who saw me didn't see me as that person -- all brain and no personality, or all brain and no sense basically. I had to really show people that I'm not only a smart individual, but that I am a caring person who understands social situations," she said.
Actually, among her friends she's known me as the clown of the group. Beautisca also successfully balanced academics and extracurricular activities in high school having been involved in the Governor General Youth Award scheme, Information Technology Cadet Programme, Junior Junkanoo, Tourism Today Club, Science Club, and Youth Empowerment Programme.
The daughter of Beaufort and Agatha King was the top student graduating out of C.R. Walker in 2014. After her first semester at COB taking five classes, she recorded a 3.80 Grade Point Average (GPA). Her stellar high school academic pursuits also enabled her to receive a government Bursary Award covering tuition at COB, which is granted to students passing five BGCSE passes with "A" grades. It's an award she's grateful for.
Without it, she said attending college would have been a struggle. She said she might have had to seek a part-time job. With one semester down, Beautisca said she found she had to make minor adjustments from high school to college, with the most important being the way she studied and when and how she did her homework.
"I am at COB for basically the entire day, so I had to find a way to change the way I did homework and when I did homework, because since I'm at COB all day, by the time I get home, I'm tired, and I couldn't do homework so I do a lot of homework at school."
And just like in high school she says she pays attention in classes, tries to ask as many questions as possible, and writes notes in her own words, and not the lecturer or other people's, because she's able to understand herself better. She also said she loves YouTube tutorial videos, and credits the social media site with helping her to pass her BGCSE's.
While she's now at COB, Beautisca is already looking forward to furthering her education internationally and for now is looking at Canadian schools, or even enrolling in a Chinese institution. She's actively seeking scholarships to help her fulfill her goals for her future. The COB student said every teenager should have a plan for post-secondary education.
"Whether you're entering the workforce, or continuing your education, have a plan for after high school," she said.
Beautisca also encourages her peers to keep themselves occupied as she said there are too many distractions out there and many ways to get into problems.
"It's easier to get into problems now that you're out of school because you have so much time on your hands. You just have to stay occupied, get into activities and go to church and always remember where you come from."
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