My mother, who is from St. Kitts and Nevis, migrated to the United States in search of the so-called American Dream. As a result, I was principally raised by my maternal grandmother from infancy, and sadly, I did not reunite with my mother until age 16. On the other hand, I have only met my Haitian father once at age 25, when I traveled to Haiti to meet him.
I vividly recall the outdoor pit latrine that we used in my childhood before our small wooden home was modernized into a concrete building with toiletry facilities indoors. I often reflect on the nights when I asked my grandmother for half of my bread, which was for breakfast the next day, because there was nothing else to eat. I missed my mother most when I graduated from primary school as valedictorian and she could not walk me up the aisle during the procession. Those days were humbling, but they put me on a mission to share, create, and promote opportunities for other people to progress in life.
In hindsight, I can attest it was not easy to envision what the future held for me. But thankfully, with the encouragement of my grandmother and family members, I worked hard, applied myself, and demonstrated early academic excellence. With that, the opportunities came. I received numerous college scholarships, and I secured great jobs after graduating. I earned degrees in public administration and international relations, am an accredited mediator, and fluent in English and Spanish. I currently wear two professional hats as the clerk of the National Assembly and a senior foreign service officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Aviation in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The most important thing for me was founding the Sonia Boddie Promising Youth Leader Scholarship in 2014. The scholarship covers the cost of school supplies for children at my old primary school who are about to enter secondary school. I dream of a world where young people, irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion, creed, culture, gender, and socioeconomic background have unlimited opportunities to become educated and trained to lead successful lives. I am so happy I can contribute to transforming their dreams into reality. And to the children who are struggling as I once did, I say: Stay focused, be diligent, remain positive, and continue striving for excellence. You can achieve anything you set your mind to once you put in the work and demonstrate that you really want it. Your efforts will not always go unnoticed. Trust the process!
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