Youth honours vendor mom with UWI degree

Last Saturday, when Mickoy Nembhard graduated from The University of the West Indies (UWI), he placed his gown on his mother, Latoya Smith, to symbolise that this accomplishment was for both of them.

Despite financial hardships, through sheer determination and resilience, Nembhard turned the seemingly unattainable dream of being a first-generation tertiary graduate into a remarkable reality.

"Growing up we never had much, and even though my mother did her best, life was hard," Nembhard told THE STAR. He grew up in Vineyard, St Elizabeth, with his mother, who was a vendor, and two younger brothers.

"While going to primary school, we lived in a one-bedroom board house with no electricity. So normally I would have to come home, light a candle, or try to do my homework before night. Mommy even had to iron our uniform over by our neighbour's [house] or use the old iron and wood fire to get the heat and press our clothes," Nembhard explained. Smith, who has nine siblings, none of whom finished high school, toiled hard for Nembhard to achieve.

"I bleach in the nights, all sleep a dead yard. I work in the rain, the sun, the breeze just to see the success of Mickoy right now," Smith said.

"And when I saw Mickoy cross that stage, tears come to mi eyes. From 2 o'clock Saturday morning I was up in the house crying and giving God thanks, because I am so grateful for what the Lord has done," Smith said.

Nembhard passed his Grade Six Achievement Test for his school of choice, Munro College, and later on, without having the first dollar for tuition, he applied to The UWI and was accepted.

"I applied for the Jamaica Defence Force, did training for a couple days and got cut after a few days. That demotivated me a lot. But, I stood firm and applied for student loan. But at the time, they wanted two guarantors with stable jobs, but nobody in my family had stable jobs," Nembhard said. However, with only a bag of groceries from his mother and $10,000 he got from a neighbour, he moved into Taylor Hall on The UWI's Mona campus.

"Through first year, mommy struggled severely to help me to pay off my school fee and also my boarding fees. By second year, I got a scholarship from the JMMB Joan Duncan Foundation. Then, for the next semester, mommy again struggled and did the best that she could," Nembhard explained.

However, when the pandemic hit, it slowed his mother's business and jobs were limited, forcing Nembhard to miss school for nearly two years. When he decided to return to his studies, he sought assistance from Member of Parliament (MP) for St Elizabeth South West Floyd Green, who assisted him with contributions, care packages and groceries. He also received a scholarship from the MP. Nembhard expressed gratitude to "each and every person that assisted me and helped me to get to this point in my life".

He said his mother, who was a vendor for more than 20 years, inspired him to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in business management.

"As a street vendor, my mother would go to any little event, pack out her stall and sell. So, from ever since I've always been there supporting her in the streets, assisting with customers," Nembhard explained. "Even though it's just a small stall, I saw her approach to doing business and even her marketing strategies. So I realised that if it's possible for her to not finish high school, or even have a tertiary education, and do so good with just a small business, imagine what I can do with a tertiary education."

Nembhard admitted that at time he thought about giving up especially during and after the pandemic.

"Mentally, I just had to be tough, I had to be strong. I grew up in the Church, so I had that fighting Christian spirit in me; and I also had good friends that understood my struggles and gave me a shoulder to lean on," Nembhard said. But through it all, his mother kept him going.

"Even though it was hard, I just knew I couldn't give up because I had to make my mother proud. Every time it would cross my mind to quit, I would think about her," Nembhard said.