COMMENTARY: How I Am Making a Difference in Jamaica, as a College Student in Saint Cloud

 

I was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and raised by my father, alongside four brothers, in the coastal city of Montego Bay. What we lacked in means we made up for in determination. Missing school was never an option. I excelled in my studies and learned early how to be resourceful, finding opportunities where others saw limitations.

Education became my compass, my way forward, my way out — and eventually, my way back. Philanthropy is often mistaken as an option only for the wealthy, but in my view, stewardship begins with empathy. As a first-generation,  international student at St. Cloud State University, I navigate my own financial challenges. I am a Computer Science and Cybersecurity major, minoring in Political Science and Honors. The support of scholarships and benefactors has carried me through moments when the path seemed uncertain.

Growing up in Jamaica, I saw how resource constraints limited opportunities for those around me. I watched brilliant, capable young people, full of potential, struggle to envision a future beyond survival. Their dreams were often drowned by the weight of their circumstances. The disparity between potential and opportunity was too wide, and I knew I had to help narrow it, even if only by inches.

I created the Pinnacle Scholar Award because I wanted to become the change I needed. It also was born from my love for science and technology; I believe it is in interdisciplinary approaches that we will redefine the future.

This award supports Jamaican children who dare to be innovators, critical thinkers, and change-makers, even as they remain vulnerable to challenges around them — such as exploitation and gangs. I want them to be vessels of promise rather than products of their environment. Their dreams deserve investment now, not later.

I was taught that the goal is not only to achieve, but to build bridges between privilege and need, knowledge and access, reality and possibility. I wanted to reach students in the same communities that nurtured my beginnings and plant seeds that could blossom into cycles of hope.

 

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I created the Order Our Steps Foundation in 2019 from my desire to be used by God as a vessel. The foundation began with a focus on supporting teenage mothers and survivors of sexual abuse, incest, and childhood trauma. Alongside a clinical psychologist and local partners, we provided mental health support, housing resources, and mentorship to help young women reclaim their narratives and rebuild their lives. As the needs in our community grew, the foundation’s reach expanded to meet them.

We also extended our efforts by providing weekly meals to the unhoused community and offering lunch vouchers to students across various schools in the parish. Our goal was restoration and resource-sharing. We knew we could not solve every problem, yet everyone involved brought something valuable to the table.

I believe we are all entrusted with a skill, a story, a connection, or a resource, and with the responsibility to use it for the greater good, leaving every space we touch better than we found it.