From a young age, I knew I wanted to make an impact in Jamaica. By the time I got to college, that vision expanded to the wider Caribbean. I just wasn’t sure how. I’d worked with youth in various ways over the years and had always been passionate about their growth, but for the life of me, I couldn’t see it as my calling.
Then one Christmas, I met a stranger who changed everything.
She asked the dreaded DC question: “What do you do for a living?” As I stumbled through an answer, she stopped me and asked, “No, what’s your passion?” That question hit me hard. She saw something I hadn’t fully embraced. Before we parted, she connected me with someone she thought could help.
That was the moment.
A few days later, I spoke with her friend, a nonprofit founder focused on closing equity gaps. She challenged me to come up with a business idea tied to my passion and present it at her upcoming conference.
And then it clicked:
Youth development + my love for travel + the Caribbean = purpose.
The floodgates opened. I was filled with clarity, inspiration, and action.
In June 2019, I launched Caribbean Minds Exposed Through Travel (CMETT), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created to give at-risk youth in the English-speaking Caribbean life-changing travel experiences. The goal? To inspire transformation and ignite the desire to succeed.
Why Travel?
While travel is often seen as a luxury, for at-risk youth it can be a lifeline, a powerful change agent. Many of these young people have never imagined a life beyond their neighborhood. Travel offers them a window into what’s possible.
It’s more than sightseeing. It’s mental, emotional, and spiritual expansion. It challenges your thinking. It stretches your worldview. That’s what it’s done for me, and it’s exactly what I want for Caribbean youth.
The Transformative Power of Exposure
Youth in inner-city communities face real challenges: poverty, trauma, family instability, crime. These conditions often push them toward fast money and risky choices. But what if they were exposed to something more?
Travel can offer that.
A chance to see life outside of survival.
To experience culture, connection, and opportunity, not just through books or screens, but firsthand.
Even with the odds stacked against them, these young people have potential. Sometimes, they just need to step outside their environment to see a different version of themselves.
I truly believe travel can be that turning point.
Looking back, I’m deeply grateful for that unexpected encounter. It led me to my purpose and set me on the path to make the right kind of impact, one travel experience at a time.
