Shawna-Kaye Lester is from Jamaica and currently a student at Bates College in Maine, USA
“Get involved, get out there, meet people, form networks, truly pursue excellence in everything you do and open doors for yourself.”
Shawna-Kaye Lester
It would be very unfair and untrue to say that I grew up in poverty; I did not. Nevertheless, I often felt what it was like to ‘have not' and even today I watch my mother downright work miracles to ‘make ends meet'. I am a 19 year-old daughter of the Jamaican soil. I am and will always be proud to be Jamaican but at the same time I will never ‘play ostrich' and fail to acknowledge that there is something wrong in any society where many rights (education for example) are privileges for those who are born and live in the ‘wrong places' and do not know the ‘right people'.
My mother often tells me that she regrets never having the opportunity to be formally educated and because of this she made sure that my sister and I received solid primary education. I attended basic school, and St.Cecilia and Meadowbrook Preparatories. All these were Christian institutions and in addition to what I learnt at mass and Sunday school, I grew to accept and appreciate the Christian faith.
I always feel so proud when I remember how my mother managed to pay fees at Meadowbrook. At the time, Jamaican prep school fees were paid once every term for three terms per school year; however, the fee was so much that she paid it in three parts each term and as a result was paying fees all year round.
I learnt and developed so much at Meadowbrook and it was there that I made some of my dearest friends. However, my best educational experience occurred when I stepped through the gates of Immaculate Conception High School (ICHS).
The Seven Wonder Years
ICHS is truly one of Jamaica 's finest schools: beautiful campus, brilliant and talented students, wonderful staff and enviable resources. Despite all this, I had no expectations upon entering; I was content just being in ‘high school', a true landmark in the life of any young Jamaican. There was so much to do though and since I was really lacking in the friend department I guess I involved myself in several activities to pass time. However, by the end of the eighth grade, I began to have expectations of myself.
I had not known it but in my eighth grade year I had had stellar academic performance in almost every subject area while being actively involved in the Environmental Club, music, netball and drama. I began to make a conscious effort to study hard and be involved. In the ninth grade I began learning to play the double bass and joined the school orchestra. In the tenth grade I began to write for a national youth magazine, play a Spanish Quiz competition and learn French as a crash course. At the end of 11 th grade, I sat the CXC CSEC exams, the GCE ‘O' Level equivalent and did well. I finished high school feeling very pleased with the transformation that had occurred since I entered. Being a part of the orchestra and playing on a trivia team were two of my most treasured activities. The trivia competition, ‘School's Challenge Quiz', opened my eyes to the world; there was so much to learn about the world- leaders, international tensions, scientists and discoveries. With quiz, things connected and no matter what you learnt, there was always more.
I returned to ICHS for the 12 th and 13 th grades and really learnt the value of wholesome and ambitious girlfriends- they really kept me sane especially in the hurricane of 13 th grade. By then, I was very restless as I could not figure out where I wanted to go from there. Eventually I want to work with the Education and Health sectors in Jamaica but I did not want to walk straight into a profession. I took courses and remained involved and also served as the head of Student Council and a member of the National Secondary schools Student Council in my final year. I applied and was accepted to Bates College as I thought that a ‘liberal arts education' was what I wanted at that time. Now, I am at Bates and trying to get myself to a position where I can really help those for who rights are privileges and I know that with God's help, I will be able to do so very soon.
I Know I CAN
There are many stories I could share as to why I believe that people can achieve most things that they want but I will share two of the most memorable.
In the tenth grade, after entering and winning an essay competition staged by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston to commemorate the Jubilee Year (2000), I became obsessed with writing. At the time, with the help of Miss Hunter, my English teacher, I entered quite a few essay competitions and raked in the rewards; the aim was to win enough money to buy myself a computer.
The most memorable of all these competitions was one staged by the Nigerian Association of Jamaica to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of independence of Nigeria . I had heard about the competition one week before the deadline for entries but I really wanted to enter because the first place prize was JA$10,000 (a lot of money at the time). I spoke with our Nigerian librarian and I dug EVERYWHERE for information; if there was an encyclopaedia anywhere in the library, I found it and photocopied and read the relevant pages. I spent every night that whole week at a friend's house. She too went to Immaculate, lived in close proximity to me and owned an encyclopaedia set and a computer! My friend helped me research every night and my mother would leave from home in the wee hours of the morning to get me when I was done; I would nap and wake again for school. I wrote, Miss Hunter read and I rewrote and rewrote. I distinctly remember that two Information Technology (IT) teachers who were in the laboratory as I typed the final copy could see I was falling apart because I was such a slow typist racing a deadline. They offered to type the essay as I read my draft to them. With their help I finished the essay on the day it was due with just a few hours to spare. My mom, one of the IT teachers and I drove down to the Nigerian High Commission and dropped it off that evening. When my principal, Sister Mary Catherine, walked up to me one morning to tell me that she had received a call from the High Commission, I almost exploded with joy. She embraced me and as soon as she let me go, I ran in the bathroom to scream; I could not wait to tell my mummy, my teachers and that friend. I will never ever forget how good winning that competition felt.
Before the Head of Student Council is named at ICHS, there is an election process. A part of that process is the nominees making a speech to the school community. On the morning that I was supposed to make my speech, my mom and I left home very early. We wanted to spare time for emergencies because the car, a 1970 something Volkswagen ‘buggy' was ‘acting up' of late. We would drive out of the house and it would just shut off in the most random places; the mechanic did not know why. After a while it became less frustrating and it would sort of just be “I wonder how far it will go this morning?” Whenever we broke down on the Mandela Highway I would just stand outside the car and someone would offer a ride because of the uniform I was wearing and in the evening mommy would tell me how she eventually got to work. That morning in particular, we made it all the way to the school gate and then the car just stopped moving. Traffic builds up easily at the school gate and so of course people started honking loudly but there was no place to pull over. My mother felt so frustrated because it was such an important morning for me that she tried so hard not to cry in front of me. I felt so bad but I had to leave her there and go make that speech. She made me grab my bag and I hopped into a vehicle at the gate and went in. The lady who drove me in turned out to be a past student bringing her infant children to school and she just smiled and said, “don't worry”. When I saw her again some months later she was so pleased to know that I had won. Standing there that morning, knowing that my mother was a few feet away trying to start up that old thing I remember thinking “geez, this is crazy but things will get better.”
God's Adult Hands
There is a Christian pop song that asks “and if we are the body, why aren't His arms reaching?” I think there are so many adults who can but fail to help youth in tangible ways. That said I must point out that there are so many adults (besides my mom and immediate family members) who have served as ‘bridges' in my life; helping me to climb from one stage to another. Miss Hunter, my English teacher who sacrificed so much time to help me nourish a talent for writing. Entering essay competitions, writing for the newspaper and just developing decent writing skills have opened so many doors for me. Miss Blake, the vice-principal of Meadowbrook never failed to encourage and pray for me to do well from the day I entered Meadowbrook until now. Brother Burton, constantly encouraging me to apply to every single scholarship opening he saw in the newspapers. Sister Mary Catherine, an awesome school principal who kept encouraging me to try new things like music and reminding me that a lack of financial resources should not be a reason to not do something I really wanted to. Dr.Minott, who basically adopted my lost soul and guided me into a fabulous college and Aunty Marcia, Aunty Ludia, Aunt Blossom and Aunt Jennifer who were there to help me get ready for Bates. Adults should not underestimate how much and how positively they can impact the life of a child when they intervene at just that right time.
Making Those TOUGH Decisions
For several personal reasons, leaving Jamaica for awhile was the hardest decision I ever had to make; quite emotionally draining. There was so much to put in place in such a short space of time but decisiveness, answered prayer and ‘bridges' made it happen. I do not know what will happen in the future, but for now I am happy to be learning all about the world. It's cliché but please know that “you're twice defeated if you never try.” Get involved, get out there, meet people, form networks, truly pursue excellence in everything you do and open doors for yourself. Most of all, when you use your education to make your life a little better, just extend a hand and help someone else do the same.
Yah man Shawna Con!
I still need to record your laugh sometimes. And you need to come to Vietnam. And one day, remember this, I will drag you out at 3am to ChinaTown in New York.
My best love - Trang
Shawna-Kaye. Shawna. Shawna-Key. Thanks for this amazing site. Thanks for your invaluable help. Thanks for being a great friend! I hope your essay competition will be a huge success and that it will attract tons of new users to Breakaway. Your story impresses me everytime I read it. I wish I could have written an equally impressive pice on myself, but you beat me at that as well... I will never drag you to ChinaTown but I will bring you with me rug-shopping some day! /Kris