Late bloomer making moves
Barely reading at age 16, now heading for university
Up until 2016, Jervis Johnson, now 20, found it difficult to decipher a sentence. However, through steadfast determination, he leaped a hurdle which has changed his life for the better.
“When I was 16, I went to a private school in May Pen, Achievers MultiResource Centre. This lady there, Miss Ebanks, a senior citizen and the viceprincipal, started teaching me to read from the Bible,” Johnson told THE STAR. “She taught me from the Bible each day, not from a textbook or anything.”
As Ebanks made him more comfortable with English, other teachers helped him prepare for pivotal exams.
“I was in grade 11 and soon to do CXC, but I couldn’t read so good. I was able to call words, but my parents and principal still paid for the subjects. They paid for eight subjects,” said Johnson. “Miss Ebanks worked with me every day. She continued to help me read the Bible and by the time it got to CXC time, I could read. I passed eight subjects with all grade ones and twos.”
LEVEL-THREE ACCREDITATION
Johnson continued his academic success at the HEART/NSTA Trust, achieving level-three accreditation in electrical instillation.
“I am getting an associate degree in electrical maintenance now, but I’m also self-employed at the moment. I’m so good at what I do, my phone rings every day with people requesting my services,” he said. “I’m going to UTech next to do architecture. I want to draw house plans and send youngsters around me to do the electrical work on those plans.”
Johnson recalled a tough upbringing that affected his childhood.
“I went to basic, primary and high school, but I never used to attend the way I should because my family was poor,” he said. “Because I couldn’t read, I used to doubt myself and say it was better me just get a cart and hustle on the road. But then I realised it is just what you put your mind to, so I pushed myself.”
Johnson believes his life is a testament and thus he has been using his story to motivate youngsters in his community of Mount Providence in Clarendon.
“About 30 youths that I told my story to are going to HEART, going class, and right now I have one with me working and trying to create a future like I did,” said Johnson. “There are youths around the world who think that because they can’t read they can’t be anything, I want them to change their mindset and know that it is just what they put their mind to.”