SIBU: His father is an odd job labourer earning about RM1,000 monthly and his mother is just a housewife,but Roland Mecal proved that poverty was no hindrance to academic excellence.
He was among the 12 students of SMK Sacred Heart here who scored straight 4As in the 2017 Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examination which was announced yesterday.
Aiming to read law either at Universiti Malaya or Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Roland added that he wanted to improve his family’s livelihood.
“I come from a poor family. In order to come out of poverty, I have to study hard,” he said when met by reporters after receiving his result slip at the school yesterday.
The art stream student who obtained 4As, 3Bs and 1C in the 2015 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination believed that only with good academic knowledge and qualification can one can succeed in life.
However, he did not discount the need to participate in extra-curricular activities as an added value to the academic achievement, apart from keeping a person’s mind and body healthy.
His tips for students to succeed in the examination were easy – pay attention in class, do homework and revision and always look for extra exercises.
Roland also hoped that his success would inspire his only sister, who is a first former at the adjacent school SMK St Elizabeth, to follow his footsteps for the future of their family.
“I will try my best to help her achieve good results, if not better than mine,” he said.
SMK Sacred Heart obtained an Average School Grade (GPS) of 3.35, the top among 24 secondary schools in Sarawak that achieved Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of more than 2.80.
The school is also among the 10 best schools in the country that received a certificate from the Malaysian Examinations Council in Putrajaya yesterday.
A total of 135 students of the school sat for STPM last year, 24 of whom obtained 4As, 3As (23) and 2As (21).
