Media personality Khadine “Miss Kitty” Hylton graduated with First Class Honours in Law at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus last Friday. Hylton, who is in her late 30s, also gave the valedictorian address on behalf of the law and social sciences faculties and said it was important for the public to see that you can be successful without “sleeping your way to the top”. Her hashtag “InspireByDoing” resonates with many people including myself, as Hylton’s feat also highlights that you can still pursue your scholastic endeavours regardless of your age.
I left high school at 18 years old and saw most of my friends heading to college to earn a higher education. However, university was not an immediate option for me based on my family’s financial plight, and I instead headed to the working world. I spent four years in the customer service industry and I felt purposeless as I knew my calling is in media and entertainment. My salary was not financially rewarding, but it covered my day-to-day expenses and my family’s bills. In 2016, I decided to invest in myself by attending college. This was a major deal for my family as I would be the first of my father’s nine children to receive tertiary education. More so, this would mean that I would not be able to financially support my family in the way I had been doing since I started working in 2012. I had no idea where I would end up nor how I would start, I just knew someone had to break the cycle of mediocre jobs, mediocre income and poverty.
I entered my first class at the Caribbean School of Media and Communication at 22 years old and I remember looking around and feeling so old and out of place. Everyone looked like they had just left high school and I was the old foot in the class. Also, when I started university, my high school friends were on the cusp of graduating. I must admit this made me feel a bit defeated and also pressured to outdo my peers as hey, I was older, much was expected of me. Two years later at 24, I am in my third year at the University of the West Indies and still have one more year to go as I am a part-time student. It has not been easy as I left my job as a customer care representative to pursue my media career. I turned up at the Jamaica Observer in January 2017 as a first year student, eager to learn the world of journalism and luckily I had an editor who had the patience to teach me the ropes and mold me into the writer I am now. I wanted this dream so much that I actually wrote for free for many months before being offered a contract. My work attracted the eyes of my current editor at The Gleaner Company, and I am still learning how to balance meeting career demands while being a stellar student. I also have aspirations of attaining a First Class Honours degree like Hylton, and who knows, perhaps be a valedictorian.
I recall speaking to Hylton at a charity event dubbed Hope in the Hills at Strawberry Hills in St Andrew months ago and she asked if I was still in school. I sighed and told her yes, and she said “it doesn’t matter how long it takes, as long as you leave with your degree that’s all that matters”. Her achievement among others like 84-year-old Curtis Thomas are living testimonies that you can achieve anything you set your mind to.
Thomas graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from the Ken Gordon School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday.
“Age is just a number,” Thomas told reporters. “I don’t see it as a stumbling block, once you have good health. I look forward to what is possible.” He added that he intends to publish a series of books and write plays and documentaries.
There are so many other examples of people who are not in the spotlight who are pursuing their dreams, academic or not, regardless of their age. I applaud everyone who is led by their inner voice to pursue their passion instead of being led by society’s voice which says “you’re too old.” I’m with Thomas; as long as you have breath you have purpose, and you owe it to yourself to maximise on your purpose.
And so I close by reminding myself and whomever is reading this that you’re never too old to get a college education. You’re never too old to revisit dreams you perhaps swept under the rug because you thought they were far-fetched. You’re never too old to invest in yourself. You’re never too old to dream…you’re never too old to be. You’re never too old, period. Tell yourself if Hylton can, you can. And if 84-year-old Curtis Thomas can, you sure as hell can.
News peg 2: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/84-year-old-graduates-with-bachelor-s-degree_148845?profile=1373
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