Teen who lost mom and grandma gets nine awards at graduation

As Jahanna Rose stepped onto the stage as the valedictorian of St James High School last Wednesday, receiving nine awards after enduring years of disappointment, one thought dominated her mind.

“When I got the awards I thought to myself, my mom and my grandma should have been here,” she told THE STAR.

The 18-year-old from Granville, St James, has turned unimaginable grief into remarkable achievement. She lost her mother, Nicola Taylor, 12 years ago, when she was in grade one in primary school.

“When I lost her everything just felt heavy,” she said, adding that despite being young the death of her mother hit very hard. “It felt like I lost everything,” she said.

“My mom was the one around, always helping me to do every little thing, help me to stay focused and encouraged me. I had other people pouring into me, but she was the main one.”

The task of raising her and her siblings fell to their father, Henry ‘Patrick’ Rose and grandmother, Maxine Malcolm. “My grandmother became my mom in a sense,” she said.

But by the time she got to grade nine at high school, her grandmother passed, leaving her not only broken-hearted but struggled to make sense of the world around her.

“On that day when my grandmother passed, it brought back memories from my mother passing. It was hard to deal with because it’s like I’m going through it again, but this time with more understanding,” Rose told THE STAR.

“She was the mother figure there for me after mom passed, and even as grandchildren we call her mommy,” she related.

Rose felt like giving up. Her attendance at school became irregular and her performance lagged. But her absence was noticed by teachers who immediately intervened and helped to put her back on track. Friends also assisted by providing her with class notes to allow her to catch up on the things she missed out. However, her determination played a key role in ensuring she was buried in grief to the point where she could find it difficult to return. She thought about how her ‘guardian angels’ would want to see her approach the situation and then made an adjustment.

“I had to tell myself that I cannot stay in this shell for too long because they would want me to push forward,” Rose said.

She approached her schoolwork with stealthy determination. Her singular aim was to make herself and family proud. Her Primary Exit Profile (PEP) scores earned her a place at St James High School during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Her aunt, Patrice Taylor, said that although Rose wanted to attend Mount Alvernia High School, she was motivated to do well.

In fact, Taylor remembered a conversation with Rose in which she encouraged the young talent to grow where she is planted.

“I said to her, ‘Listen, I am proud of you regardless. It doesn’t matter which school you go because I know what you have in your head. You have a brain, you are smart. Whichever school you go, the school don’t make you. You are going to make the school,’ and that’s exactly what she did.”

In high school, Rose adopted a lazer-focused approach to her studies. Her efforts paid dividends. On graduation day, last week, she was rewarded for her hard work. She was named valedictorian and received awards for outstanding performance in mathematics, social studies, history, business, office administration and EDPM. She earned the Richard Vernon Award for Most Improved Student.

“I was not expecting nine awards,” she confessed. “I was expecting five, but the special awards came as a surprise to everyone, especially me. But then my dad reminded me that all those sleepless nights and hard work, you had to expect those.”

For her father, there aren’t enough words to express how he is feeling.

“The graduation was Wednesday and I’m still living in that day,” he said. “She brought tears to my eyes, laughter, smiles, everything. I’m just beaming with pride.”

Rose now awaits the results of the eight CSEC subjects she sat earlier this year, and is eagerly looking forward to the next chapter of her life.

“I plan on majoring in business. I’m actually considering law as well. If I choose law, I would choose the law that has to do with business. I hope to get scholarships to help me on that journey because that would help me and my family greatly,” she said.