Jeg blev født anderledes og til at gøre en forskel. Da alle mine gymnasievenner gik til fester og havde kærester, brugte jeg min energi på mine studier, sang i kirkekoret og arbejdede frivilligt med at støtte handicappede børn. I de tidlige år var jeg for høj, for tynd, for genert og passede ikke ind i “in crowden”. Alligevel var jeg stille og roligt fast besluttet på at gøre det, jeg mente var rigtigt, støtte andre og efterlade verden som et bedre sted. Det tog noget tid, før jeg endelig gjorde oprør mod mine caribiske forældres krav om, at jeg skulle være læge, og i stedet fulgte min egen nysgerrighed, min egen vej og valgte forskning. Men jeg blev ikke ved med at lave grundforskning og har udviklet mig til at blive en leder, en Business Angel Investor og en indædt DEIB-forkæmper. Som ung pige accepterede jeg aldrig, at der var ting, jeg ikke kunne gøre på grund af mit køn eller min hudfarve. Min mor og far opdragede mig ikke til at være mindre værd. Selvom jeg flyttede fra mit hjemland Dominica og blev omgivet af en overvejende hvid kultur, forsøgte de at overbevise mig om det modsatte. Jeg indså, at min oplevelse ikke var unik, og at der var mange, der også levede eller rettere eksisterede i miljøer, der truede med at knække dem. Så jeg taler min sandhed, vores sandhed og uddanner andre, så alle kan blive accepteret, alle kan blive inkluderet. Jeg taler ikke kun, men handler også ved at coache andre, da jeg mener, at alle har pligt til at udnytte deres kraft og leve et meningsfuldt liv. Den største løgn er at tro, at vi ikke har nogen magt. Det har vi alle – så udnyt den.
I was born different and to make a difference. When all my high school friends were going to parties and having boyfriends, I was throwing my energies into my studies, singing in the church choir and volunteering to support handicapped children. In those early years, I was too tall, too thin, too shy and did not fit in with the “in crowd”. Yet, I was quietly determined to do what I thought was right, support others and leave the world a better place. It took some time before I finally I rebelled against my Caribbean parents conditioning that I should be a medical doctor, and instead followed my own curiosity, my own path and chose research. But I did not stay in doing basic research and have evolved into being a leader, a Business Angel Investor and a fierce DEIB dvocate. As a young girl I never accepted that there were things I could not do because of my gender or the color of my skin. My mother and father did not raise me to be less than. Although moving from my home country of Dominica and being immersed in a majority white culture tried to convince me otherwise. I realized that my experience was not unique and there were many who also lived or rather existed in environments that threatened to break them. And so, I speak my truth, our truth and educate others so that everyone can be accepted, everyone can be included. I not only speak but also act by coaching others as I believe that everyone has the obligation to tap into their power and live a purposeful life. The greatest lie is believing that we do not have any power. We all do -so tap into it.
