RADHICA DE SILVA
Open Scholarship winner Aurora Rackal once dreaded school so much that, as a child, she would cry, throw up, and plead with her parents to keep her at home.
As she grew older, she made them promise she wouldn’t go beyond Form Five, avoiding the need to read or study further.
It was a promise parents Ronald and Rebekah Rackal made but later broke, as they showered their daughter with support, encouraging her to love school and pursue any hobby her heart desired.
Speaking to Guardian Media, Rackal, a student of Naparima Girls’ High School, admitted that despite her academic success, she “absolutely hated school even as early as pre-school.”
“I didn’t like getting up, getting dressed and leaving my house,” she admitted with a smile. She confessed to hating reading even more.
Rackal said her friends, also navigating the rigours of school, helped to ease her burden but she never got over anxiety, especially during exam time.
“I suffer from serious anxiety because of the pressure I put on myself. The fear of letting myself down was overwhelming,” Rackal shared.
Apart from her friends’ support, Rackal turned to painting, nail art, and video games as outlets to calm her mind. She later discovered her own study methods.
“I realised that the only way I could study was if I was by myself. So, after everyone went to bed, I would go up to the attic and start studying. On good days, I would study from 10 o’clock at night to 4 o’clock in the morning,” she recalled.
She would sleep for two hours, wake up for school, and nap in the afternoon after returning home. She’d then have dinner with her family, chat, and wait for everyone to go to bed before resuming her study routine.
Following a strict study schedule wasn’t her method. Rackal said she needed to feel motivated. If she was agitated, she would cook, do nail art, or draw to reset her mind.
Through this method, Rackal accomplished all her academic goals. She ranked 13th in the nation in the SEA exams, achieved 12 Grade Ones in the CSEC examinations, and later earned five Grade Ones in CAPE, culminating in an Open Scholarship in Information, Communication, and Technology.
Rackal said she plans to study computer science at the University of Waterloo or Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) aspiring to contribute to global solutions.
“I want to use simple building blocks to solve real-world problems and be part of the journey of human innovation,” she said.
Looking back, Rackal encouraged other students to embrace their individuality.
“You know who you are and what you are capable of. Give it your all and for the parents, I want them to let their children learn to develop their own study patterns. Don’t pressure them.”
She said her parents, Ronald and Rebekah Rackal supported her without applying pressure and they nurtured free thinking and comfort at home.
“We never told her she had to aim for a scholarship,” dad Ronald said. “It was about listening, nurturing, and letting her find her way.” As a senior manager and engineer, Ronald said he prioritised being present for his children despite long working hours.
“I made it my duty to be home at a reasonable hour. I would never badger them with questions. I would sit quietly and then they would talk about everything. I listened and guided and always had high expectations for Aurora, although she never knew it.”
Her mother, Rebekah, reflected on the balance Aurora maintained. “When work became overwhelming, she would play video games or paint to de-stress.”
Rebekah said her mother Farisha Dubarry as well as Ronald’s brother Francis Sakal who died in 2018, supported Rackal and her siblings, Charlotte, 17 and Tristan, 15, in their formative years.
“It was a team effort from the whole family,” Rebekah said as she struggled to hold back her tears.
