Jevaughn Graham making BCIC, MYF and UDC proud

MANY YOUNG people learn from their own mistakes, but it takes a particular youngster to recognise the destructive behaviours of others and avoid following their examples. This is even more challenging in an underserved, crime-prone community like Waterhouse in Kingston’s inner city, where Jevaughn Graham spent his youth.

“Growing up,” he remembers, “I saw a lot of children turning out to be bad people. I wanted to be that person who stayed away from that path.”

By the time he entered Excelsior High School in 2016, 12-year-old Jevaughn had devised a plan that worked for him then and still does today.

He explains, “I choose my friends very carefully, from among others who think the same way I do. For example, I don’t do certain things because I think of the consequences more than I think about the fun I might have at the moment. And I learned to walk away from altercations in a way that does not seem disrespectful.”

Not surprisingly, Jevaughn did well in school and continues to excel in the workplace. He graduated with a high school diploma that included English language, three technical subjects, and visual arts. He had spent three months working as a driver assistant with a bakery when a family friend told him about the BCIC YUTE Work Project in late 2022. Wanting to improve his life, he was happy to apply and even happier with the benefits he gained.

In celebration of its 60th anniversary, the British Caribbean Insurance Company (BCIC) partnered with The MultiCare Youth Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the ICD Group, and the HEART/NSTA Trust to launch this 18-month youth development programme. Beneficiaries included 30 youth from Parade Gardens and surrounding downtown Kingston communities.

High praise

Jevaughn had long dreamed of being a mechanical engineer and later a computer engineer. However, he saw all aspects of the BCIC YUTE Work Project as relevant to his career goals and has high praise for the project.

“The Passport to Success Life and Employability skills training was very informative,” he says. “I learned a lot, such as how to deal with arguments and the importance of being punctual and respectful in the workplace.”

He was similarly appreciative of the vocational training provided by HEART/NSTA in Customer Service, Records & Information Management and Business Administration courses, each of which he completed at Level 2.

“The process of learning was not hard,” he notes, “because the teachers made sure that each and every student, including me, learned everything, even with the short amount of time we had. We also set up a WhatsApp group so we could communicate if we needed anything.”

After completing the first course, Jevaughn was placed with the Urban Development Corporation’s (UDC) head office to serve his one-year internship in its Documentation and Records Management Unit. He was allowed one day off each week to attend the other HEART courses. Not only did he appreciate the patience with which his supervisor and other staffers introduced him to his tasks and assisted his progress, but he also says the work of this statutory body opened up an exciting new world for him.

“When I was placed at the UDC, it was the first I was hearing about the corporation,” Jevaughn confesses, “but I got to love the work, and I learned a lot about Jamaica, for example, when parks and housing schemes around the island were built, and the processes involved in making the related decisions.”

Jevaughn’s enthusiasm was combined with hard work, as confirmed by his internship supervisor, Senior Records Officer Shanna Harley Parchment, who notes, “Jevaughn works very hard and learns very quickly, and he perseveres; his overall demeanour is positive. Whenever you give him advice, he listens to it and works on whatever it is that you advise him to work on. He is ambitious, and I think he will go far because he’s very dedicated.”

Happily, his performance as an intern was so good that the UDC offered him ongoing work on a contract basis. He continues in the same department as a temporary records clerk and has been helping with a survey being carried out by the UDC. Far from giving up on his engineering dreams, he has set his sights on an evening course at Vector Technologies’ Kingston branch and is saving towards the required fees.

Now living in Greater Portmore, Jevaughn enjoys drawing, reading, music, and playing video games. He sees the latter as a possible income earner and has already experimented with making gaming clips and posting them on a YouTube page he set up and on TikTok.

“The MYF and the projects they operate are very, very helpful to Jamaica,” he says. “I would like to thank them for everything they are doing, and thanks also to BCIC for seeing the potential in this project.”