St Andrew High's Next Finance Professional
"It always looks impossible until it's done," The great Nelson Mandela once stated. A student of ours, Christina, has utilized the motto to help her get through any difficulties faced. Eventually, this became her personal mantra to help her push towards her goals and aspirations.
Meet Christina Francis, a proud member of our internship cohort. She is a past student at St. Andrew High School for girls where she spent seven (7) years. She is now a first-year student at the University of the West Indies, where she is pursuing her first undergraduate degree in Banking and Finance. Outside of the classroom, she is an active member of her community, participating in a variety of community projects and volunteering for a variety of non-profit organizations, including coming back to volunteer with Dream Jamaica. These projects range from community or beach clean ups, fundraisers, home visits, providing editorial services, etc.
Christina discovered Dream Jamaica in the summer of 2020. However, at that the time, it was too late to sign up for any of their programs. In the summer of 2021, she officially joined the internship cohort. She highlighted that in this program she was given the opportunity to network with professionals and gain experience in the field of her choice.
"This program is incredible!" she exclaimed. "I strongly advise all high school and college students to participate.”
She also took part in our career-development sessions. This includes learning interview techniques and workplace etiquette, creating a resume, dress code and preparation of university. She further explained that her easy transition to university was aided by the principles she learnt in these sessions. She is currently a full-time student at UWI, Mona excelling in her studies. She is also a student director at the Every Mikkle Jamaica Foundation, where she is a member of the marketing committee.
Her future ambitions include becoming a financial manager and beginning to invest in stocks and bonds not just in Jamaica but also abroad. She stated that this would give her both the knowledge and the resources to help the youth of the future generations the same way dream Jamaica assisted her.