Whether it’s community service, advocacy or building and fostering business and community relationships, I see it as my duty to be informed and engaged in my community to inspire my generation and generations behind me to give back and be of service. Giving back doesn’t always look like giving away money. Giving back also looks like using your story to inspire others to be the change they desire to see in the world. Giving back looks like supporting local organizations (such as the Urban League of Broward County) doing great work in the community through volunteerism. Giving back has allowed me to be more cognizant about what I can do for others than what can be done for me. As an immigrant from Jamaica who dealt with the culture shock of assimilating to life in America, I was a shy person who thought all was impossible and that there was no space for me to grow into who I am today. It is because of that experience, that I’m even more determined to do what I do, to inspire the next shy Black girl, who thinks all is impossible and there is no space that she can take up.
Being of service and giving back creates space for us to be cognizant about what we can do for others in a collective manner, rather than being fixated on what can be done for us individually.
