Charlize-Joy Balances School, Swimming and Dad’s There Too
Juggling commitments like swimming competitions and school work was often a challenge for St Anne’s Primary School student Charlize-Joy Smith. But not only did she manage them both, she picked up her school’s Dux award and the All Rounder Student Award during the school’s prizegiving ceremony on Wednesday at Lambert Hall in Suva.
The occasion was made even more special for her since her father James Smith travelled from Papua New Guinea to attend the prizegiving event.
The 13-year-old said the Dux award gave her an extra boost of confidence since she is preparing to participate in the Ken Suenaga swimming competitions set to take place in Hawaii next month. Charlize-Joy has been swimming since she was 11-years-old and has since been balancing training with her academic commitments. “Just the weekend before the Fiji Year 8 Examinations I had this swimming competition going on so studying was quite hard,” she said.
She also won a couple of swimming bronze medals from the Fiji Long Course Age Group Nationals that she participated in right before her exams. She dedicated all her achievements to her parents.
“My mum Selaima Smith helped me a lot, especially when I was trying to balance studies with swimming,” she said.
“So my only advice for other students is to always listen to your mum because she probably knows what is best for you. “Without her I would not have achieved all this.”
The young swimmer is expecting to join St Joseph’s Secondary School next year and aspires to become a journalist.