Maxfield youth overcomes tough past

There was a time when Ainsley Rhoden appeared to be heading down the wrong path. He was consumed with anger and was frequently in fights, this despite the best efforts of his Sharon Barker, to steer him on straight and narrow.

At age 14, Rhoden found himself in conflict with the law and was placed in state care -- Manning Child Care Facility in Southfield, St Elizabeth -- in 2014 after he was found guilty of assaulting his stepfather during one of their numerous clashes. It was one of the best things that could have happened to him.

"I was heading down a bad road because I was always getting in trouble," Rhoden, 19, said as he reflected on his challenging past while growing up in the gritty Maxfield Park community in St Andrew. But even as he took a glimpse in the rear-view mirror, Rhoden is making sure that he keeps his eyes placed firmly on the road ahead.

The youngster, who has only heard stories about his father, has passed 14 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations, two City & Guilds, and one National Council on Technical and Vocational Education and Training exam.

"I feel proud of myself today because at one point I couldn't read, but I have learned that from someone puts his or her mind to anything, they can achieve it," Rhoden told THE STAR.

My biggest motivation

The teenager said that he was indebted to the people - particularly the staff at the Child Protection and Family Services Agency - who helped turned his life around. Rhoden is currently studying logistics at the Caribbean Maritime University in Kingston.

"I didn't have the benefit of a good start, but my biggest motivation is that I always look on my life and the poverty I grew up in. I look on those things, and sometimes I look at a homeless person and wonder. It could have been one bad decision that this person made to be in this position. So I used that to say not because I was in this sitaution or certain things happened to someone else, it should happen to me," Rhoden reasoned.

He added: "From mi know myself, I was always a good youth. It is just that I had some bad influences around me. So when mi look 'round, mi start realise say mi can make use of the opportunity, especially with the fact that they were being paid for, I had to make use of it."

Rhoden's advice to persons who are going through struggles is that they should always remain hopeful, and never stop trying.

"I would say to them that despite whatever you are going through, there is always hope. You have to believe in yourself, because without that, no amount of support and help will work," he said.