My Story
Barbados
Born in the tropical island of Barbados, this is where I call home. I am proud of where I am from, I always say there is something special about this island and anyone who has visited would say the same.
Cricket
At age 5 I started playing the game of cricket which in many ways shaped my entire childhood. Through cricket I was able to travel to England twice and at its peak required me to be practicing/playing seven days a week for several years.
Through cricket I received the opportunity to work with UNICEF and talk about how sports can be used for the positive development of children. This looking back was the first time I had the opportunity to be apart of any social work and maybe without noticing began my passion for sharing my views.
Built my first Computer
Growing up, I enjoyed working with my hands and had long hoped to build my first personal computer. Admittedly a bad decision given I spent all my years of savings on a high-end gaming computer which truthfully, I didn’t need. Nonetheless, at age 13 I built my first computer.
COVID
Not much really needs to be said here. This was one of the hardest periods of my life. From being active 7 days per week to not being able to leave my house really messed with me. Everything that made me, well me, went completely on pause. We haven’t even talked about school yet. Being from Barbados the promise of our education system is that if you do well in school, well being straight A’s, then you get to go study oversees, get a good job etc. At the most important time of my life academically when I am preparing to take the exams which the last 8 years of education prepares you for, I get locked inside, no school. The main problem, we had never ever utilized online schooling platforms nor were our teachers particularly trained in online schooling. Let’s just say the few years of online schooling were turbulent.
Bartlett Tech
Bartlett Tech was the result of a child stuck at home with literally nothing to do. I couldn’t go outside, and video games weren’t quite enough. I spent months planning and finally at age 16 I started my first company. I began building computers systems for gamers, businesses, producers, if you wanted a computer I built it. I would say this is where my life took a few turns as my views and experiences through being in business changed significantly.
Lighting Line
A few months in I began exploring various ways I could sell branded items with the company’s brand. I landed on LED light strips which at the time were trending. After months of research and working with a graphic designer for the packaging, I settled on a manufacturer out of China to produce the item. A little over one year after starting the company, we launched the lighting line which 'soldout' within 30 days
Featured Articles
The relative success of the company attracted the media but this time on a larger scale. I worked with UNICEF again, this time highlighting my business, regional news outlets as well as a feature article with a government published magazine. Additionally, morning news shows where I was given the platform to share my story.
Rejected Univeristy
Remember I said I had been working towards university for almost a decade? Well, I got accepted and then said no. That is the sentiment I landed on after evaluating questions like, do I even like this degree? How am I going to use this degree? How are we even paying for this? Am I sure about this? This unsurety led me to my decision. Also, I had a business, and my life finally seemed back on track, why rush into this expensive 4-year decision I am not too sure about.
Electrical Internship
At the leading Electrical Firm in my Country, I worked on the electrical installation for a commercial bank as well as a marine environment, the Barbados Sea Port. What was most interesting about working on the bank was the exposure to other disciplines such as HVAC and plumbing as most days we all worked together. Understanding three phase electrical systems as well as how electrical power is distributed for commercial buildings. Working in a marine environment was much more interesting due the specialized electrical wire and machinery required for the marine environment. After working here I knew I wanted to work in the electrical field.
Hotel Opening
Probably the most random of my jobs but very eye opening. I worked in HR opening one of Barbados’ newest hotels, Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lord’s Castle. Here my colleagues and I built the hotel’s employee and payroll database as well as employee onboarding. What was interesting about this job was seeing how large corporate organizations are structured and how decisions are made. Moreover, given at the time I still had my personal business, the business side of the hotel and the financial side interested me. Crucial observations talking with people from varying demographic and financial backgrounds, from the local waiter to the international General Manager, gave me varying insights into the lives of people from all walks of life.
Airport
This one was my favorite, what started off as me working check-in and boarding flights turned into a job that gave me direction for my career. Shortly after starting the job, I got the opportunity to work in radio communications and operations. Ensuring once a plane lands it gets back in sky as fast as possible. Being the direct line of communication between the airline’s aircraft in the sky and the ground meant that I played a key role in the airline’s operation. Definitely a high-pressure environment since aviation is one of the places to work where every day you can basically guarantee something is going to go wrong. It also gave me a great excuse to talk with the pilots and aircraft engineers. Pilots have some of the coolest stories you will ever hear, and I would sit and talk to pilots whenever I got the chance. Through working here, I have a personal goal to learn to fly but also made aviation a target industry for me post-graduation.
Re-admitted to Univeristy
Through my experiences at various companies and my personal experiences with my business I needed time to think about what I wanted to do next with my life. This time led me to reconsider my decision to pass on University since I had evaluated the issues I had. I finally felt like I had a plan and was going to university not because it is what is supposed to be the next step, or because someone told me to but because I wanted to go. Thus, for the second time I was admitted to USF to study Electrical Engineering. Funny thing is the second time I was accepted I got a scholarship which meant the cost was less than half the cost had I accepted two years prior.
Now we are here
So here we are. You are currently on my most recent project, this website that I built. I want to share my journey, thoughts and experiences through my eyes. Hopefully those reading can gather something from my page. This is a project I have long thought about but was a bit nervous to make the leap simply because there is a degree of vulnerability that comes with putting yourself and thoughts in the public eye which I experienced in the past. So, thank you for stopping by, the hope is that I can add something positive to the world through this project and we will see where it goes. Truthfully, I have no idea where this project will lead me but that is kind of the fun part.
