Old Harbour mom joins twin daughters at university | Myesha King shows the world it’s never too late to pursue your passion

For King, being ambitious came naturally, as she knows that being ‘ordinary’ was never for her. A childhood of poverty cemented that philosophy and she was determined never to accept mediocrity or not live up to her potential. Though her beginnings were humble, she knew what she wanted to accomplish and at the top of her list was to become a nurse. Now at age 38, she is on the road to self-actualization, as she is fully immersed in her studies at the University of Technology (UTech) where she is a second-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. What is incredible is that joining her on Utech’s campus are her twin daughters, who are themselves enrolled at one of the Caribbean’s finest tertiary institutions where they are pursuing their own dreams of being licensed architects in the future.

To listen to Myesha speak, one gets a sense that not only is she not afraid of hard work but can acknowledge that her character and a backbone are fortified with titanium. As a teen mother, she knew the odds against her success were not statistically in her favour. However, she also recognises that for the sake of those relying on her, failure could never be an acceptable option. “I grew up in Bartons. I got pregnant early and though I was out of high school, I was still a teenager. I had a rough childhood as we were very poor. My mother sold in the market and my father went to bush to chop wood to sell so it was far from easy and I vowed that if I had children, I had to give them a better life than I had growing up," she tells me. 

Despite having not one but two mouths to feed, the Tacius Golding High school graduate wanted to enter the field of nursing, so she opted to do an eight-month course in practical nursing at the National Academy. “I didn’t get all the subjects I wanted to in high school so I took the opportunity to do them then,” King told Old Harbour News in an interview. Though she would eventually marry the father of her daughters, she realised that he was not stepping up to be the kind of father they need to mould them into well-rounded individuals. The relationship didn’t last, while it left King to play both parental roles, shouldering all the financial and emotional responsibilities.

At this stage, she could have decided to concentrate solely on the girls’ future but ambition burned within her like a kerosene lamp with a brand new wick. She wanted more for herself, and though it was hard financially she just kept going. “All my life, I wanted to be a nurse so I had to push through no matter what it took,” emphasized King.

After she did her practicum learning practical nursing, she applied for a job at the very medical centre where she was placed, the Good Shepherd Medical Complex in Old Harbour. They quickly snatched her up because they were super impressed with her work ethic. “I could not be happier working with Dr. Francis Kpormego because he has been an angel and has played an integral role in my life as he is always encouraging and accommodating,” she said of her employer.

To take her skill level up a notch, she embarked on further training in phlebotomy and became a certified phlebotomist. For the uninitiated, this is the person who draws your blood at the laboratory. As her girls grew older, their father re-entered the picture and began incrementally playing a role in their lives which she appreciated. She was now on target to move on to the next phase in her life and finally pursue her lifelong dream of being a nurse. However the road to success is rarely smooth much less straight and in 2014 Myesha would become a mother for the third time, this time blessed with a son. “So school had to be put on the back burner again,” she said.

However, she never lost sight of what she ultimately wanted. With her daughters now teenagers and her son no longer a baby, she decided that it was time to apply to UTech to do their nursing programme, but was told that she needed CXC Mathematics to be accepted. This was another speed bump along her journey. She began math classes which entailed her having to hold down a full-time job in the day, evening classes after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays plus looking after her children and running a household.  “After I passed math, I applied to UTech, did the entrance exam and was successful but low and behold, shortly thereafter I got another call to say that they had oversubscribed to candidates and ran out of space, so basically they could not accommodate me that year,” she recounted. “At that point, I was not only disappointed but also so disenchanted that I said ‘that’s it’. I didn’t want to try again. But eventually me and my ‘nuff’ self realise that I still want this so I’m not giving up.” 

Though she had to do the entire process all over again (including the entrance exam) she regrouped because, in her heart of hearts, she just could not let go of her desire to be a nurse. Motivated by her children, King now is working hard to stay the course and in a few years, finish strong so that she can have the career she always aspired to.
With this kind of template, it is no wonder that her twin girls Samoya and Samantha Brown are keen on following her footsteps to achieve their own career goals of designing not just buildings but future cities in Jamaica and across the globe. The young women, who are now 20 years old, are first-year students at the Caribbean School of Architecture at UTech, having enrolled last year August.

According to Samoya, the designing bug bit them when they were students at Old Harbour High School. She said: “We did technical drawing in high school and recognised that we liked it. We love designing buildings so it piqued our interest and from there it kept growing. I have grown to love it even more because I get to learn, experience and create spaces that have so much meaning and history. Some of the teachers I had were really great as they were very helpful in giving advice and helping me to be successful in passing my subjects. Graduating high school was bittersweet as I probably was not quite ready to grow up, but was ready to go out, experience and learn about what this world has to offer.”

The girls who were prefects when they were in sixth form, developed such exemplary work ethic that they got all of their subjects and went straight into the course, bypassing the waiting period that many have to go through. The transition from secondary to tertiary learning at first proved challenging but Samoya feels that both she and her sister are up to the task. “It is very interesting so far but it is also hectic,” she added. “I had to do a module that was similar to technical drawing but instead of doing it on computers we recreated it on paper and it was not easy. Plus getting all of the required school supplies is expensive. Going back and forth each week became exhausting and having to worry about personal issues along with the stress that studying brings can be draining, but the support system that I have keeps me going.”

On top of stressful assignments, they also had to learn to balance all of their other commitments including family life. Getting to and from Old Harbour every morning proved a major challenge, hence the girls opted to live in Kingston during the week and make it home on the weekends. Samoya said: “Assignments are no joke and sometimes we have to stay overnight to complete them. Being able to see what I am able to come up with for the projects we have to participate in for school, and completing the assignments push me to continue no matter how hard it gets so at the end I can say ‘wow I did that’. It gets more fun each day because it's really interesting despite the stress and pressure to do well. ”

It has been a lot to navigate so far and it will indeed be a long journey for them because it will be four years of studies to complete their bachelors, two more for their masters, an intense internship and then a board examination to wrap it all up. In total, to be a licensed architect can take up to nine years! Indeed architecture is almost competing with medicine in terms of length of study and qualification period. Nevertheless, the girls say that they are up for the challenge as they have a passion for the field and with their mother as a living testament to the philosophy of “stick-tuitiveness”, they know that it will all be worth it in the end.

When times get difficult, Samoya said she relies on the strength of the bonds she formed in high school. It is those friendships that have helped her through the stressful times at school because she can always vent to her closest friends and use them as her sounding board. The girls are also skilled with their hands so when it comes to hobbies, they both make bead bracelets and key chains for fun as well as to earn some much-needed cash.

For her sister Samantha, her motivation comes from wanting to ensure that at the end of this educational endeavour, her family is financially secure, especially her mother. “First semester was very pressuring but 2nd semester is a lot smoother but I don’t want to jinx it. We don’t have much time for a social life as we have to ‘bleach’ at school often to finish assignments but I’m motivated as this is the career for me that I really am keen so that allows me to keep focus. I want to be successful but more importantly, I want to be happy,” she tells Old Harbour News.

As Samantha explains it, her mother is her role model and the person she most admires because all of her life she watched this individual not only preach about persistence, but actually embodied it. “She just always finds a way to get it done. To me, she makes the best out of any situation. She is fearless, strong and independent. No matter how things are tough or dire financially, she always comes through for us,” she said.