St. Jago High’s Savannah McDonald recently sat her final four CAPE subjects, and added four more distinctions to the four she obtained in last year’s sitting. The product of the Monk Street institution now boasts ones in CAPE Communication Studies, Caribbean Studies, Entrepreneurship(Units 1 & 2), French (Units 1 & 2) and Spanish (Units 1&2).

 According to McDonald, her French grade was the most surprising one. She said “I love French, however, it has always been challenging for me in regards to its grammar and pronunciations. Additionally, the French exams, particularly the writing and listening exams, were very difficult in my opinion. Despite this, I not only got a grade one but I placed 6th on Jamaica’s Merit List in 2018 for French Unit 1.” Her preparation method for examinations consisted of reviewing her French and Spanish literature books, utilizing foreign language applications which allow persons to speak to natives and participating in several WhatsApp and Skype calls with her classmates. When asked about who she thanks for her success, McDonald said “Firstly, I must thank God because I truly felt his support. Every time I said I couldn’t do something due to my own doubts and insecurities, He reminded me that I certainly could accomplish anything.” She continued: “I also would like to extend my gratitude to my parents for always supporting me even though I’m not necessarily choosing a “traditional” career path. Sometimes I doubt myself and they’re always there to encourage me and let me know how special and talented I am to be blessed with such linguistic/language abilities.” Savannah will be pursuing a Bachelors degree in Integrated Marketing Communication at the University of the West Indies, Mona. She hopes to fulfil her dream of becoming a translator/interpreter subsequent to her tertiary studies. It is also her hope to begin offering services in translation, interpretation, multilingual social media management and other language-oriented services. Great job Sav! 

–Akkeem Polack