- Contributed
Jacqueline Sterling overcame enormous odds in order to achieve an advanced education.
Marlene McPherson, Outlook Writer
JACQUELINE STERLING'S life goal is to overcome new challenges and to increase her knowledge. So, when one day in 1992 her best friend, Verona Campbell, called her from the University of the West Indies and said, "Girl, you need to be here", she did not dismiss the suggestion.
Although at that time, she says, no one around her was studying and she already had a job as a teacher at Denbigh High school, she took her friends advice and applied.
She also got a scholarship from the Ministry of Education to attend the UWI and this motivated her.
Jacqueline's youngest child , Theodore, was just one year old and the other two - Kadie-Ann and Hughmore - were going to school so she thought it best to live at home in May Pen and travel daily to Kingston by public transport.
She was in for a number of challenges. However, she surmounted them all.
"Every one thought it impossible for me to commute daily from University of the West Indies to May Pen," she recalls.
In order to reach classes at eight o'clock in the morning, she left May Pen at five a.m. a pattern that would continue for many years.
The mother of three ran a tight schedule. She would run her home by telephone, supervising the activities of her children and the cooking of meals.
On reaching home she would help with the housework and do assignments when the children were in bed.
Family support
Her husband, Lincoln - a teacher of social studies and geography at the primary level - was also very supportive, especially at home with the children.
"Without his presence, it would have been harder to accomplish my goals," his wife states.
Her classmates marvelled at Jacqueline Sterling's ability to get good grades in the face of all her challenges. "This also became their motivation to succeed," Sterling reports. "I remember studying and passing the compulsory courses
'Ideas of God' and 'Development of Civilisation' without ever meeting the lecturers. These courses were held between the hours of seven and eight o' clock in the evening and I could not attend. I could not stay for these courses because my travelling would be more difficult in the night, so friends supplied me with notes and I read the recommended text and was able to pass the examinations."
Sterling says that her determination to succeed was also fuelled by her lecturers. "In one instance I approached a lecturer, Dr. Hinds, who was having late classes. I told him I would not be able to come to his classes. He responded ' Mrs. Sterling you read for your degree'.
"This was all the advice I needed. That was a valuable lesson, which I still use today," Sterling states.
In 1996, she graduated from the University of the West Indies with an honours degree in history and sociology. At Denbigh High, she was appointed head of the social studies department.
The teacher was not satisfied with just a first degree however and enrolled with Central Connecticut State University where she completed a master of science degree in educational leadership. At CCSU, Sterling was class valedictorian and graduated with a 4.0 average.
In 2001 she was employed by Mico Teachers' College in Kingston as a lecturer in history, sociology and social studies methodology.
Jacqueline Sterling is currently pursuing another masters degree, this time one in history, at the UWI. She also has her eyes set on completing a doctorate in curriculum development.
Her children and husband have been following her footsteps with alacrity. Husband Lincoln Sterling is currently completing his first degree at Northern Caribbean University.
Great achievements
Daughter Kadie-Ann completed high school with eight distinctions in nine subjects and is now a student of Pharmacy at the University of Technology. Son Hughmore is a sixth-form student at Glenmuir High School. The 'baby', Theodore, is now a third-form student in High School.
Jacqueline Sterling advises those who which to follow her example, 'be certain that, whatever you set your heart upon, you can do it."
She adds, "For me, success is a journey, not a destination. Success is possible with family support and a positive attitude. Be willing to accept challenges and embrace opportunities."
If you want changes in your life , self-actualisation and upward mobility at the workplace, going back to school is a good way to do it, she believes.
