Memorial High School senior Jazmine Whitaker is focusing her energy on her future as a veterinarian and knows that hard work pays off.

“I want to talk to youth and let them know if I can do it, so can they,” Whitaker said. “It’s hard but I want to tell people it’s possible. I’m in the top 10 percent of my class, ranked 41 but I want to be in the top 5 percent. I have to work for every accomplishment.”

Seated near the front office at the high school, Whitaker was deeply involved in reading a copy of Brave New World when she stopped to talk about her academic career and future plans.

The book, she said, is an assignment for an English class not at the high school but for Lamar State College-Port Arthur where she is co-enrolled as a full time student taking 12 hours — not something one would expect from a person who is dyslexic.

Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and leaning how they relate to letters and words, according to the Mayo Clinic. Persons with dyslexia are typically of above average intelligence but face challenges in reading. Famous dyslexic’s include Albert Einstein, Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Spielberg, Will Smith, Steve Jobs, and Muhammad Ali among others.

She learned she was dyslexic when she was younger and has since mastered skills to help.

“I found I was reading the same sentence over and over,” she said. “For me, it has to be double spaced and possibly in a different background color. And with dyslexia, reading cursive is difficult.”

The high school senior keeps a busy schedule. She’s president of the Ivy League of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., president of the NAACP youth group, president of the National Honor Society, senior class treasurer and secretary of the Youth Advisory Council of Port Arthur. She’s also involved in student council, Superintendent’s Advisory Group, Top Teens of America, Ladies of Memorial and the National Society of High School Seniors.

In addition, she’s lieutenant of the Flames Drill Team, in the choir and takes dance at Company D Dance Academy, where she’s a teacher’s assistant. She’s also a member of Ruach Ministries International Church and part of the Praise Team.

Whitaker once contemplated following in an uncle’s footsteps and becoming a chemical engineer. But she was unsure if this were something she’d be happy doing the rest of her life.

“I have a passion for (caring for) animals,” she said. “I realized that when I’m a vet, I’ll wake up every day with a smile on my face.”

Whitaker searched Youtube for videos of veterinarians and realized there aren’t very many African American vet’s.

“If the Lord says the same, I will start a vet’s hospital out here. It will be a 24-hour vet’s office with boarding service. I want to start out in Atlanta then come back.”

Her mother, Donna Laverne, calls her a hard worker.

“She works hard — to the point where she’s always in her books, striving to be at the top,” Laverne, who is an assistant principal at Lincoln Middle School, said. “Dyslexia has played a big part, but we didn’t use it as a crutch. We make sure she utilizes accommodations.”

Dance at school and after school takes a chunk of time, but for Whitaker, school and academics must come first. To stay organized, Laverne buys organizers and calendars and Whitaker writes everything down and uses highlights to color code.

Laverne said her daughter has always wanted to become a veterinarian and she admittedly wasn’t too keen on the idea at first.

“Then I found there’s a lot more to it. She can use the degree in animal science for different careers,” she said. “I realized as a parent she has to go after her own passion.”

Last year Whitaker found a newborn kitten that had been abandoned. She took it home and researched how to care for it. Kittens at that age do not need regular milk, so she headed to Walmart and bought a special formula.

“It was like a newborn baby,” she said. “I had to comfort him and feed him. It was a learning experience.”

Laverne is very proud of her daughter — proud that she will ask questions and dig into topics and never complain.

“I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” she said. “And she’s not worried about going off (to college). She does things by herself and doesn’t care if she doesn’t know anybody. She has the drive. She’s more independent than a man at that age,” Laverne said.

Whitaker plans to attend Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., to study animal science, then attend Tuskegee University’s veterinarian school to earn a doctor of veterinarian medicine to become a veterinarian.

E-mail: mary.meaux@panews.com

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