Young scientist wants more students to access mentorship

Jamaican scientist Dr Camir Ricketts wants to widen access to mentorship for students across Jamaica.

He intends to do this through his programme, ‘Minds of Jamaica’, where students can have access to professionals from several industries. These mentors are what he calls ‘the Minds’.

Ricketts says mentorship should not only be used as a behavioural intervention tool for troublesome youth, but also as one that “democratises the access to opportunities and gives students a chance to learn about something that will be pivotal”.

The 28-year-old scientist attended Herbert Morrison Technical High School in Montego Bay, St James, but after moving to Kingston, he felt there was a knowledge gap to be filled for youth, especially in rural Jamaica.

“We want to provide career mentorship and also the opportunities that go along with it and we continue to look for partnerships to do so,” he said

Ricketts shares that many students also want answers about the lifestyle of their chosen professions.

“One thing I believe is that if you at least can have a realistic idea of what it is like [in the profession], you’re more prepared going into it and can set your expectations accordingly,” he added.

Meanwhile, he says that only advising students to do what they love will not be sufficient for their success, as many students are still confused about what they want to pursue as a profession.

One mentee, 18-year-old Olivia Williams, says her experience with mentorship allowed her to narrow her interest scope within the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

She is now pursuing opportunities in bio-chemistry.

“STEM is for people who are innovative and can create things out of the box; you just need to find your niche and blossom from there,” she argued.

Ricketts says mentors often become involved in the journey of their mentees, and most times provide funding for workshops and training to enhance the students’ learning experience.

Mentor in marketing, Amoye Phillpotts-Brown, shares that guiding her mentees has been a rewarding experience.

“It’s shown me that when you are in high school or university, you don’t know everything [and] you also learn about yourself,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ricketts who practises in the field of computational biology, has a group of students in the STEM fields under his Bio-Informatics Training Programme.

The programme, which began this year, allowed Jamaican students to collaborate with international scientists and other Caribbean students to work on projects in the STEM fields.

One mentee who aspires to work in cybersecurity, Kyle Sterling, says the programme was essential for his strategy towards success.

“For students, it’s hard to open up a lot about the things that are bothering them, because [others] are just looking for the results and no one ever really sees the journey which gets you there, and the journey is the hardest part,” he noted.

He says there are branches in the information and technology fields that are in demand and he hopes more people will become involved.

“You are going to have many potholes on the journey to get where you want to go, so the best thing you can do for yourself is to find someone who is already there and they can tell you how to avoid them,” he advised.

The programme also allows for weekly virtual training sessions on the ‘Minds of Jamaica’ social-media platforms, and students can collaborate with ‘the Minds’.

“I was there with people who were doing their PhDs and already in the industry. At one point, I was the youngest in the sessions but in the end, I was confident,” another mentee, Anthony Givans, said.

The ‘Minds of Jamaica’ initiative has a cohort of more than 250 mentees between 13 and 24 years of age, who receive free access to professionals and experts locally and internationally.

“We’ve had people on our platforms who are IT managers, network administrators and software engineers, [even] those in the medical fields,” Ricketts said.

He notes that there are many opportunities for students in STEM, which will allow them to contribute to several areas, including medicine.

JIS