Photo Caption: Skylar Powell with her parents, Sivan Powell and Karensa Harper Powell

Skylar Powell, a resident of Berlin in St Elizabeth, was two years old when she started school.  From that tender age, her parents recognised that she was an extraordinary child.

“She achieved all of her milestones early. She did everything basically before other children.  Before she could even talk, we could send her for any item in the house and she would go for it,” disclosed Karensa Harper Powell, Skylar’s mother.

“When she was four, she had another year left in basic school, but we realised there was nothing more for them to offer her because she was already advanced. We tried to get her in the public school system, but she was too young, so we had to get her in a private institution. When she did her entry level test, she ‘breezed’ through everything,” related Mrs Harper Powell, a public health inspector.

Despite being two years younger than her classmates, Skylar consistently topped her class from grade one to six at Munro Preparatory.  At 10-years-old, her remarkable achievements culminated in her scoring 383.5 in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) to earn a place at Hampton School and being named the 2024 JN Foundation Parish Scholar for St Elizabeth. At her graduation, the former head girl was named the top student in all five PEP subjects and achieved the principal’s award.

Being awarded the JN Foundation scholarship was a thrilling surprise for Skylar.

“I was a hundred times happy because I never thought in the entire parish of St Elizabeth that I would be the one chosen [for the scholarship]. I did think I was capable of getting the scholarship, but my mind was just thinking that there were so many other kids in St Elizabeth that I might not have been the one chosen,” she reasoned.

In recognition of her accomplishment in the PEP, Skylar, along with 36 other students, were recognised by the JN Foundation and awarded five-year scholarships at the JN Foundation PEP Scholarship Awards Reception held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel recently.  Of the 37 recipients, 14 are parish scholars; three, JN Bank Easi-Save County scholars; and 20 are children of JN Group employees who were awarded the Building Excellence and Achieving More Success (BEAMS) scholarship for attaining a placement score of at least 320. An additional 10 students were presented with one-time grants by JN Money Services at the event.

Skylar’s father, Sivan Powell, who works as a health and social care assistant at the Mannings Child Care Facility, admitted that he was initially sceptical when he received the call about the scholarship.

“Her aunt did the [scholarship] application; however, I remembered nothing about it so when I got the call, I was very puzzled,” he said, believing the call was a scam.

He pointed out that Skylar has never scored below 90 per cent since grade one and that he was confident that she would have been awarded a scholarship.

“We always saw that she had greatness in her. She is not one of those who study. She does everything at school for the most part.  Whatever she does in the classroom, she hardly ever forgets it. She has excellent memory.”

Throughout her academic journey, Skylar has been lauded not only for her brilliance but also for her character. Her grade six teacher, Francine Rochester, now acting principal, spoke highly of her.

“She’s willing, dedicated, hardworking and she always strives for the best. She takes constructive criticism very well and is willing to help her classmates when she’s finished.  She’s conscientious and always striving for excellence so she has always maintained first class honours.”

Now, Skylar has settled in at her new school, where she continues to excel, scoring 100 per cent on all her assignments done so far and immersing herself in school life. A member of the maths and art clubs, Skylar also plans to join the debate and chess clubs.

As she looks to the future, she offers advice to students preparing for PEP: “Pay attention. Always look over your notes because it gets stored in your brain.”

Skylar hopes to become a surgeon, a career dream she has had as a toddler following the pleasant experience she had in hospital after doing a hernia surgery when she was two or three years old.

Outside of her academic excellence, Skylar is an exceptional artist and enjoys playing board games like Monopoly and Sequence, video games, and lawn tennis. Her newest hobby is swimming, which she started learning this past summer while overseas. She has one brother, Richard Glennie, a sixth-form student at the BB Coke High School.

The JN Foundation scholarship is highly competitive. Some 475 applications were received through the JN Foundation’s website for this year’s award. As part of the eligibility for the scholarship, the students and/or their parents must be JN members, customers, or clients of The Jamaica National Group for at least one year.