Sheriffa Munroe, participating in an interactive session with students of the Morant Bay High School, at the recently held Ministry of Education National Sexuality and Reproductive Health Expo.
Sheriffa Munroe, one of NCB Foundation's Parish Scholarship Awardees, spoke up at the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Education National Sexuality and Reproductive Health Expo held this week. Sheriffa, a shining example of perseverance and dedication, shared her story of abandonment, abuse, and poverty to more than 5,000 high school students, who were in attendance at the expo.
"My story is about choices ... life is about choices and the choices we make as young people will shape the direction of our lives forever," she stressed to the students.
Top awardee
Not only was Sheriffa selected from hundreds of applications to represent her parish as an awardee of the NCB Foundation Scholarship last year, she was also recently announced as the top awardee in economics and Management of Business in CAPE. She is pursuing a degree in economics at the University of the West Indies.
Her life has been full of obstacles which she has struggled to overcome. At seven years old, the first in a series of tragedies changed her life. Her father left the family, and Sheriffa's mother struggled to provide in his absence. By age 13, Sheriffa's mother could no longer afford to take care of her and she was sent to live with family. Over the years, Sheriffa has moved from one household to the other. She indicated that, "As I got older my life became more upsetting."
Never gave up
Despite the hardships, Sheriffa struggled to remain focused and never gave up. She managed to obtain high academic achievements at secondary school. She has focused her energies on succeeding. "I know that I am not the only young girl - young Jamaican - who has been struggling financially ... who has been told that I cannot achieve because I'm from a poor family. I know I am one of the many Jamaicans who have a vision, not only for me, but also for other young people," she said.
As she concluded her speech with confidence and boldness, she left words of encouragement to the students, "I know I can help to build a better Jamaica if I seek to demonstrate and assist individuals in remembering that poverty is not an excuse for failure ... but a reason to want to succeed."