In March 2007, I stood at the podium of the Jamaica Conference Centre facing approximately 200 students, my peers. We had all congregated there as representatives of our high school, the mediators between our government and high school students. That day was a culmination of months of hard work. My schoolmates and I had travelled to several high schools across the country, soliciting signatures, signatures which would ensure that the tradition of student advocacy doesn’t die with our generation.
This act of advocacy, through being a council member on the National Secondary Students’ council in Jamaica, was just one of the ways in which I’ve been impressed to effect change. Throughout my high school career and in the process of pursuing my undergraduate degree, I was involved in several service organizations. The need was always present as I lived in a developing country where the unemployment rate borders 40%. In visiting orphanages regularly as well as infirmaries and shelters, there was one predominant fact in all my visits. There was a need for not just social interaction, but efficient representation. I believe, at the core of civilization, must lie that innate desire to help. Sometimes we forget that the essence of humanity lies in us being, humane.
As a first semester Biomedical Engineering student I plan to be a catalyst of change by using my skills in the fields of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering in the field of health sciences. In this field my emphasis will be to improve the quality and efficiency of medical equipment and the quality and affordability of drugs in the pharmaceutical industry.
The Global Citizenship and Equity Learning Experience (GCELE) encompasses both my passions, travel and advocacy and as a new student I am filled with excitement yet humbled by the potential experiences I hope to