A Future Quantum Physicist with a Creator’s Heart

Aiden Small, the 2025 JN Foundation PEP Scholar for Kingston, may have just started high school, but he’s already captivated by two very different worlds. The Campion College freshman is fascinated by quantum physics, yet he also loves the idea of creating online videos and connecting with an audience, a pair of passions few teens would combine.

“I watch a lot of science fiction shows, and they’ve inspired me to study quantum physics. I’d love to be a YouTuber, but as a career, I want to be a scientist,” he said.

An avid anime fan and budding artist, Aiden, a St Aloysius Primary alum, earned a place at Campion College along with a five-year JN Foundation scholarship with his outstanding PEP exam score of 379.7.

He said while the PEP exams were manageable, they weren’t a pushover. “The exams done in fourth and fifth grades were a bit challenging, but as for sixth grade, the only challenging one I’d say was the Ability Test. Everything else was easy, and I was happy to know I passed for a very good school,” he said, noting that he is already occupied with several projects since his transition.

Reflecting on the scholarship, he said, “I’m happy. Many of my friends got scholarships, and I didn’t expect one for myself.”

However, Nickiesha Fearon, Aiden’s mother noted that the JN Foundation scholarship could have been a missed opportunity, as it was Courtney Thomas, her fiancé, who kept insisting that they submit an application.

“That came as a shock to me because I wasn’t going to try it and my fiancé said, ‘Just try it man because nothing tried, nothing done’ and when I saw that email I said, ‘Oh my God!’ I was happy it worked out,” she said while emphasising their appreciation for Aiden being awarded the support.

“It will be a huge help towards his school fees and booklist,” she said.

Ms Fearon, who is a 33-year-old operations supervisor in Kingston, said Aiden has always been an outstanding student and she anticipates he will continue to do well at Campion both in his academics and extra-curricular activities. Already Aiden has plans to return to football, a sport he played in basic school, but set aside during primary school. He hopes one day to play in the Manning Cup competition for his school.

“Almost in every grade he got awards for being top in math, top in class or top academic performance, so he excelled,” she said. “When I saw his PEP results, I wasn’t surprised because I know he would have excelled in it but I was extremely proud at the level of accomplishment.”

Her fiancé, who was also overjoyed at the results, shared how they helped Aiden stay on track with his studies for the PEP exams, guiding him through difficult concepts while making sure he wasn’t distracted by screens when it was time to complete his work and study.

“Sometimes if left on their own, they’ll go off and watch videos and not study, so we have to be in tune with the timetable and abreast with whatever he’s doing so we can support, but when he gets going, there’s no stopping him,” Mr Thomas said.

Both caregivers believe Aiden’s career ambitions may evolve as he gets older. Mr. Thomas, a 36-year-old accounting officer, even hopes Aiden might develop an interest in investing. However, both agree that his curious personality will help him to continue exploring interests, stay motivated in his studies and ultimately achieve his dreams. They’ve both committed to supporting him on his journey.

Aiden is one of 37 recipients of five-year scholarships this year and joins the list of hundreds of young Jamaicans whose secondary education have been supported through the JN Foundation’s scholarship programme since 1983.

Of the 37, fourteen recipients are parish scholars; three, JN Bank Easi-Save County scholars, and 20 are children of JN Group employees who gained 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 grants by JN Money.

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