Ricardo Allen selected for Youth Leaders of the Americas Initiative

The UNITED States Depart-ment of State has selected Jamaica's Ricardo Allen to participate in the Youth Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI), which was announced by President Barack Obama during his historic visit to the island last April.

This pilot programme of the initiative will send 23 young professionals from across the Americas to the United States for a three-week fellowship starting on February 25, the United States Embassy in Kingston said in a release yesterday.

"Ricardo's entrepreneurial talents bloomed early. While still in university, he founded One-on-One Educational Services, a Jamaica-based company incor-porated in 2013. He has transformed his interest in academics and his passion for helping others into an innovative business dedicated to providing effective and affordable face-to-face courses. One-on-One has won several awards, including the Best Innovation in Education award from Jamaica's National Innovation Awards," the release stated.

The embassy said that Ricardo, in his interview for the YLAI fellowship, told them that he lived his life by the belief that "when your back is against the wall, the only way to move is forward".

The release quoted United States Ambassador Luis G. Moreno as saying, "Ricardo's determination and resilience are the very qualities we know any emerging leader needs."

The ambassador also said that he was "confident that Ricardo will take full advantage of these opportunities to advance the growth of entrepreneurship in Jamaica and the region".