Jahmel Brown: Rising from Adversity to Empower Caribbean Youth

In a world of challenges and obstacles, some individuals rise above adversity, turning their dreams into reality through sheer determination and hard work. Jahmel, a beacon of inspiration and resilience, epitomizes the essence of success. From humble beginnings to achieving remarkable feats, Jahmel has carved a path of excellence, leaving an indelible mark on his community and beyond. In this article, we delve into the remarkable journey of Jahmel, exploring the pivotal moments, lessons learned, and the unwavering commitment that propelled them to the summit of success.

EJM: Tell us a little about your upbringing, the challenges you faced along the way, and how you overcame them. 

Jahmel:  My upbringing was a tumultuous journey, born and raised as an inner-city youth from the community of Tower Hill. Growing up, I was considered the least likely individual to become successful due to my humble beginnings as a Domestic Worker and a Cart man's son. As a hardworking individual, I have faced a multitude of challenges over the years, such as money worries, lack of resources, and often attending school without anything to eat. My challenges were exacerbated by the constant hardship I faced both at home and school simply because I was poor. To overcome the challenges that once plagued my life, I had to work ten times as hard to instill myself in a place of satisfaction and growth. For example, I did this by aligning myself with the right people, acquiring both my diploma and degree while engaging in meaningful work experience as a former intern at the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Kingston, Jamaica, which has proven useful in my development. 

EJM: You've held various leadership positions, from being a National Youth Parliamentarian to serving as a Caribbean Youth Fellow. What have been the most significant leadership lessons you've learned from these experiences? 

Jahmel:  The most significant leadership lessons I have learned from serving in numerous positions, including being a National Youth Parliamentarian and a Caribbean Youth Fellow, certainly have to do with building my brand, leveraging the networks I am a part of, and gaining a sense of empowerment that I did not have before. As a youth leader, it took me a while to recognize that I had to build a youth leadership journey that would be a reflection of my brand. Recognizing the importance of building a brand as a youth leader, both intentionally and unintentionally, was equally important in my journey. I believe building a brand has been a great lesson to learn in the positions I have held over the years, through attending events, working on projects, and interacting with others. Subsequently, it was important to learn how to leverage the networks I was included in after building my brand because as a youth leader, it is crucial to network and align myself with the right people, as it can either make me or break me. As a result, I have realized the significance of leveraging myself in the right spaces and/or networks to the best of my ability. In doing so, I have had the chance to work with others on projects and be included in spaces I was not a part of before. In conclusion, gaining a sense of empowerment that I did not have before was the most important lesson I could learn as someone who has to deal with imposter syndrome. In gaining a sense of empowerment, I had to push myself out of a place of self-doubt by attending more events and increasingly working with other people to adjust and develop my leadership skills as I confidently move forward on my youth leadership journey. 

Jahmel: My involvement in creating numerous opportunity hubs and managing other opportunity initiatives on different social media pages to help thousands of youths across the Caribbean has indeed been impressive and impactful. As a result, my opportunity initiatives have attracted the attention of others nationally, regionally, and internationally, making me well-known as “The Opportunity Connector.” Since sharing opportunities, I have had multiple chances to attain partnerships with other people and be recognised for my work in the Jamaica Observer and Loop News Jamaica. But, if I had to choose one impactful moment from this voluntary work, it would be gaining the opportunity to be featured in a Jamaica Observer article last year on one of my impactful opportunity initiatives at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus. The article allowed me to realize the impact it has had on other people's lives, with individuals willingly giving their testimonials and sharing the different experiences they had from the particular opportunity they had gotten. In the end, this article proved useful to me in highlighting that the voluntary work that I was doing was bigger than I could have ever imagined and substantiated a need for expansion on a regional level. 

EJM: Tell us about your “Opportunities for Caribbean Youth” initiative. 

Jahmel: Opportunities for Caribbean Youth (OFCY) is operated by me, the Founder, and my volunteer, Charm Evans, as the leading online youth platform for Caribbean youth within and across the region. This online youth platform acts as a Caribbean community for youth to upskill, gain a new job, or simply gain access to more youth opportunities for self-development. This youth platform, otherwise considered to be a youth initiative, was created to solve the complex issue of ‘disparity’ that exists for Caribbean youths in accessing a range of opportunities, such as jobs, scholarships, fellowships, and more youth opportunities at the national, regional, and global levels. For all youth to actualize their potential, they need to be more aware of the opportunities that exist, and this is exactly what OFCY does by providing a large pool of opportunities at Caribbean youth's fingertips. Each opportunity posted on the social media platform is first reviewed, verified, and then vetted for all Caribbean youth's safety. As a result, we do not post every opportunity we see, and the ones posted normally go through a comprehensive system created by me, the founder, that has proven useful over the years when I was helping and impacting over 4,000+ Jamaicans. 

EJM: Looking ahead, what are your career aspirations, and how do you plan to leverage your experiences and education to achieve them? 

Jahmel:  My career aspirations are aligned in the areas of research, policy, and international relations. I have worked hard to navigate myself in that particular field by acquiring knowledge in certificates, a diploma, and a degree, as well as practical experiences in the jobs and leadership positions I have held, which have significantly added to my development. Currently, I am working on obtaining my Master’s degree in International Public and Development Management (IPDM), but to be honest, this has proven more difficult than I could have imagined. But, in the future, through hard work and perseverance, I hope to graduate with my Master’s degree while engaging in meaningful work experience. Overall, I have a lofty goal of one day becoming a well-esteemed policymaker or politician in aid of others. Moving forward, I plan to leverage my previous working experiences at an Embassy and a United Nations agency to foster more options for working experiences in working towards my career aspiration. 

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As we conclude our exploration of Jahmel’s remarkable journey, it becomes evident that true success is not merely measured by achievements, but by the character, resilience, and passion that define one's path.