AGAINST THE ODDS : 17-y-o Ardenne High School student Andre Inverdale, rises above challenges for CSEC success....Living in a household of 17 does not often allow quiet time or private study time, however he was successful with 9 CSEC passes.

PENDA HONEYGHAN Observer writer  Sunday, September 27, 2015    

LIVING in a household of 17 does not often allow quiet time or private study time. But for 17-year-old Andre Inverdale, it provided a team of strong support.

INVERDALE... there will always be a time when you say to
yourself, ‘mi caan bada enuh’, but find something that inspires
you to be great

Distractions, competing activities, noise, numerous visitors, notwithstanding, Inverdale attributes his academic success to the ever-circling presence of his extended family and his promise to them to always pursue excellence.

The Ardenne High School student earned nine subjects in the 2015 sitting of the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) exams.

He received grades ones in additional mathematics, chemistry, English A, French, history, information technology, and mathematics. He rounded out his scorecard with grade twos in social studies and biology.

But the road to this achievement has not been easy. He maintains, however, that his star coach has been his mother, Charmaine Moodie. “Mommy has been there from the start. She's like a mother and father in one. She knows what I am capable of, and with her putting in the effort [it] drives me to be focused,” he said.

In a sit-down with the Jamaica Observer, Inverdale beams with pride as he speaks of his mother. He recalls the many sacrifices known to him that she has made, and suggests that he knows there are innumerable others which she may have hid from him to protect him.

For him, she is an automatic source of motivation, and he remains forever grateful. Moodie operates a small business and says that she bolsters her funds to support Inverdale with her participation in a local ‘partner’ plan. This and God’s grace has been how she’s been able to put her children through school.

“I operate a small bar, and I sometimes buy and sell clothes and other things like Bath and Body Works fragrances. Since his birth, it’s just been me. So, of course, it’s been hard on us. But he is a good child so I have to give him all he deserves,” Moodie says. She adds that she has always had to be creative to ensure her children get educated, as she tries to support their ambitions.

“He has never failed me; none of them have. My daughter, Andrea Kelly, recently graduated from the University College of the Caribbean, so all I can do is to continue to be grateful,” she added. Moodie said she continuously reminds her son that, though there is nothing wrong with what she is doing, she wants so much more for him, so she continues to instil a language of greatness within him, because she has always felt he has unmatched capabilities. She said she is happy he has closed one chapter of his education and has come out with success. more