Nyah Emilia Kalmera
PHILIPSBURG--For 16-year-old Nyah Emilia Kalmera, earning 10 Grade I passes in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations was not simply about preparing for one set of exams. She told The Daily Herald on Sunday that it was the result of five years of consistency, the support of her family and teachers, and learning to believe in herself even during moments when she doubted her own abilities.
Nyah was St. Dominic High School’s top-performing student in the 2026 CSEC examinations, earning Grade I passes in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Spanish, Geography, English A, Mathematics, Information Technology, Theatre Arts (Dance) and Music. The school said her achievement places her among the top achievers in its history. She also took the NT2 examination at B2 level and passed all components.
She credits consistency as the biggest factor behind her CSEC results. “I think the most contributing factor to my results is my consistency,” Nyah said. “I feel because I remained consistent academically throughout my 5 years at SDHS that my CSEC exams felt like just another exam.”
She also credited her teachers and classmates for helping prepare her for the examinations.
Although Nyah loves Mathematics and performs well in the subject, she said it was her biggest challenge during CSEC. She explained that CSEC Mathematics examinations often follow patterns that students can recognise from previous papers, even though the questions are not exactly the same.
This year’s examination differed somewhat from what she expected. “The math exam was slightly different from the pattern and caught me a bit off guard,” she said.
One particular surprise was the absence of circle theorem questions on Paper 2. Nyah said she responded by attempting as many questions as possible to the best of her ability and preparing extensively for Paper 1.
Nyah told this newspaper that she did not use one study method for every subject. Instead, she adjusted her approach depending on what she was studying. For information-heavy subjects such as Geography, she used active recall and watched videos about the topics. For Mathematics and the calculation portions of Physics, she practised questions from past papers and also used ChatGPT to generate CSEC-style questions based on the topics she was studying.
For her science subjects, she used the Pomodoro method, flashcards for active recall and rewriting her notes. One of her more unusual techniques was teaching what she had learnt to her family, her dog or even her stuffed animals.
She said verbalising information helped her understand large amounts of material more deeply.
Throughout the journey, Nyah said her family and teachers were her biggest sources of motivation. “They knew my potential and never doubted that I would be successful in the end, even though there were times I sometimes doubted myself,” she said.
She specifically thanked her parents, Sharina Kalmera-Bryson and Emilio Kalmera, and her grandmother, Bernadette Bryson, for believing in her and pushing her to strive for the best.
She also thanked all of her teachers at St. Dominic High School for supporting her academically and never doubting her.
Nyah is not stopping with her CSEC success. She is currently enrolled in the International
Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme at St. Dominic High School. After completing the programme, she hopes to pursue further studies in Europe and enter the medical field.
Her interests are specifically in Anaesthesiology or Neurology. Outside of academics, Nyah has built a wide range of interests and activities into her life. She is a dancer at NIA and plays first/lead violin with both the NIA Youth Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra. She has also participated in netball, track and swimming at school.
Her extracurricular activities have included Math Club, Science Club, Performing Arts and Debate. She has also held leadership positions in Interact Club and Student Government, where she served as President and Vice President.
In her free time, she enjoys crocheting and has an interest in aviation.
Despite the impressive results, Nyah does not present CSEC success as something that comes without pressure or difficult moments. Her advice to students is to begin revising early, avoid procrastination and use technology responsibly. “Do not let AI do your work for you (use it as a tool to guide you),” she advised.
She also encouraged students to take breaks and enjoy the experience rather than becoming consumed by the pressure. “It will get stressful at times, but in the end, once you achieve the grades you want, it’ll all be worth it.”
And for students who may doubt whether they can achieve their own goals, Nyah's message comes from her own experience: “Believe in yourself because if I can do it, you can too.”
