Kavinesh Son of Jayasaravanan (22A01)

At one glance, Kavinesh S/O Jayasaravanan, a student from Jurong Pioneer Junior College, seemed like just any ordinary student. However, beneath his cheerful demeanour and smile, lies a story of a tenacious and mature young man who remained focused on his goals despite having to overcome family issues and financial struggles.

At just a tender age of 11, Kavinesh’s whole world came crashing down when his family fell apart. “My parents started quarrelling a lot. It became so bad that I got scared every time it happened. They definitely did not end on good terms when they divorced. My sister and I were devastated and we felt that it was our fault,” recalled Kavinesh.

After his father left the family, Kavinesh’s mother struggled to keep the family together with the little pay she brought home. As his mother was unable to keep up with the home loans for their comfortable 5-room apartment, they had to move to a much smaller home. She also started working longer hours to make ends meet, hence was not able to care for both children. Kavinesh’s sister eventually went on to live with his elderly grandparents leaving Kavinesh alone at home most of the time.

“I no longer had my sister around to keep me company. I had to learn to grow up quickly because there was no one at home. I also did not want my mother to have to worry about me or the chores at home after a long day at work, so I helped as much as I could, including washing my own clothes and cleaning the house. I was 11 then but was quite small-sized for my age. I remember the broom was even much taller than I was!” Kavinesh mused light-heartedly.

Sometimes he even went to bed hungry as he lived with just one meal a day. “My allowance was not a lot, when I did not have enough, I just bought food from school and basically lived with just one meal a day if my allowance ran out,” Kavinesh shared.

While he battled to stay afloat at home, his grades in primary school subsequently spiralled downwards and his studies suffered. He attained just 154 points for his Primary School Leaving Examination, and barely made it to the Normal Academic stream in secondary school.

In secondary school, when his home situation started to become more stable, he was able to focus more on his studies. Kavinesh was also determined to turn things around. “In my mind, the only way I thought I could get out of the situation I was in was to study hard. I dreamt of entering university and the only way I thought I could do it is to hopefully do well enough so I can get a scholarship or financial assistance.” That thought fuelled his dream and he started working very hard, and eventually attained a good grade in Science, enabling him to study the subject in the Express stream. He continued to perform well in his O-Levels and qualified to enter a junior college (JC).

JC however, was not a bed of roses for Kavinesh. Coming from the Normal Academic stream, he was unable to keep up with the rigour and demands of subjects in JC at first. The teenager, who did Art in secondary school and does illustrations in his free time, did not take Additional Mathematics in secondary school which led him to be significantly behind his peers in Mathematics.

It was a long and arduous journey for him initially to understand new mathematical concepts and follow what was going on in H2 Mathematics class. He also struggled to keep up with Geography which was especially challenging to him as he was not used to the copious amount of notes and lecture packs that he had to pour through for revision and also the intellectual rigour required in answering essay questions which were much more demanding than the ones he was used to in the Normal Academic stream in secondary school.

While trying to cope with academic challenges in school, the loneliness he felt coming home to an empty house became more palpable. “While most of my friends could share their struggles in JC with their families and siblings, I did not have a support system at home that I could vent my frustrations to. The feeling of being alone at home and having no one to talk to outside school really took a toll on my confidence and mental state. The challenge for me was to not feel worthless,” Kavinesh shared. Thankfully for him, his JC teachers rallied around him and provided support for him. “I was fortunate to have wonderful teachers who not only made a deep impact on me but helped me along my JC journey,” shared Kavinesh.

Kavinesh shared how his Geography and Mathematics teachers helped to instill confidence in him. He was also inspired by his teachers whom he regarded as his mentors. “I think one of the most inspiring things that I saw from my Geography teacher, Mr John Goh, was how he could break down complex matters in real life and think about them in a unique way through his writing. He was inspiring so I saw him as someone that I would want to become. My Math teacher, Ms Chong, on the other hand, valued even the slightest of improvements that I made. That helped me become more confident and helped me build a method to revise for myself not just in Math but in other subjects as well,” quipped Kavinesh.

He also found motivation to persevere in his studies through his involvement in his Co-Curricular Activities (CCA), Taekwondo. While he had no experience in Taekwondo, learning the martial art enabled him to become disciplined and taught him that he should be consistent in his studies and to work hard to get what he wanted.

“Taekwondo taught me that to get far, one will need to put in continuous work and to be consistent with stretching and training. As such, going through the training which included the most painful stretches ever, it taught me that nothing in life is easy and that I must work hard to get what I want. As such I practised and practised repeatedly and I think that the good things that came out of it really showed me how discipline is such an important role in getting far anywhere in life,” he reflected.

He then translated the lessons learnt from CCA to his studies and dedicated extensive time to do consistent practices. For Mathematics, he utilised both JPJC’s A-Math Bridging Programme and supplementary questions to catch up. His primary goal was to at least do decently at H2 Mathematics by the end of JC1. For Geography, he also did a lot of writing practices, to a point where what used to be ‘painful’ became more comfortable and not as much of a challenge for him anymore.

Kavinesh’s perseverance in JC1 eventually paid off. Much to his surprise he did well in both the subjects he was struggling in. Even more shocking, he managed to bridge the gap for mathematics, attaining an ‘A’ for H2 Mathematics in his Year-End Examination in JC1, despite not having any A-Math background.

“I vividly remember my Math teacher, Ms Chong, handing me my Math paper with a look of pride. It is a moment forever etched in my memory. To others it may not seem like much, but it really meant the world to me as all my efforts over that year from the start actually paid off. That feeling of ‘I did it’ really helped me hone my confidence and determination to follow through in J2 and excel,” Kavinesh recalled fondly.

Although Kavinesh continued to do consistently well in JC2, in the lead up to the A-levels, he had another curveball thrown his way. As his mother fell deeper into financial problems as she could not keep up with the growing bills and finances, she decided to sell the family home and moved in with her friend. Kavinesh, on the other hand, had to move into a temporary home with his aunt.

“I literally had no home. My mother went on to stay with her friend while I had to ask around if I could stay temporarily with any relatives. It was just a week before the A-Levels,” Kavinesh shared.

Yet despite the setback, Kavinesh remained cheerful and undeterred in his efforts to achieve his goals. He spent a lot of his time in school to do his revision in the lead up to the A-Levels such that school became his second home. He also found his ‘village’ and support system in school.

“JPJC has this unique ‘kampung culture’. I felt I was given strong support from not just friends from my class but those friends whom I have made from other classes as well as the teachers who inspire me. School gave me a sense of comfort and happiness, which I did not feel in my own home. It has made me more open and at ease around people. Somehow, the JC journey has made me more extroverted and more confident about myself.”

He also remembers fondly how his morning routine with friends in school made it a lot easier, “Every morning before morning assembly, I have what I call my ‘Morning Coffee’ ritual at the concourse with my friends. We will go to school earlier to have breakfast together and share our struggles or just laugh at silly things. It is one of the things I really miss from JPJC, because those moments really made my day in the morning. I think for me, it was more of the fact that I found my people in JC.”

Mr Mohamed Osman Bin Rahamat, his form teacher, speaks highly of Kavinesh, “Despite all that he has gone through, Kavinesh never once complained and remained focused on his goals and did not quiver or lose hope despite the adversities and challenges he faced.”

Like a swan swimming graciously above water, but paddling hard under water, Kavinesh is the embodiment of calm and quiet determination despite the adversities he faced.

His advice to other students facing difficult challenges, “Don’t let setbacks push you all the way down but rather use it as a motivation to push you to do better because once you achieve your goals, it is something truly rewarding, and the feeling is really something you can never forget.”

He hopes to be able to clinch a scholarship or study award to pursue either Geography, Architecture or Urban Planning in university.