Jeneka Brown awarded for service to Barrett Town
Published:Monday | August 28, 2023 | 12:09 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Jeneka Brown, a single mother who has always done her best to be a positive and active influence in her native Barrett Town, St James community, has done her hometown proud following her recent receipt of the Vinnette Stewart Education Grant.
The grant, which Brown received during this year’s staging of the East Central St James Education Awards at the Iberostar Hotel in Rose Hall on August 18, is named after Vinnette Stewart, a resident of Barrett Town who served as a constituency secretary for Member of Parliament Edmund Bartlett and was active in her community’s development before her passing in 2017.
Brown, a 29-year-old student atSam Sharpe Teachers’ College (SSTC) in St James, was bursting with gratitude as she told The Gleaner how the grant, valued at $100,000, will help her pursue her dream of being a special education teacher with emphasis on teaching hearing-impaired children.
“I really do appreciate this grant because, as a second-year student, I currently fund myself, and it would really assist me because I am currently raising my daughter on my own. This grant will really help me a lot, and it motivates me to keep doing good, working in my community, and also helping those like me to pursue their goals,” said Brown.
“I am honoured to get this award, and I think it is a great opportunity, seeing as Vinnette Stewart was from the community and her family is looking forward to give back to the community, which is what I am looking forward to doing, as well. I want to make a difference in my community, so this award really means a lot to me in pursuing my career.”
Each year, the Vinnette Stewart Grant is awarded to one student who hails from Barrett Town and has given distinguished service in community involvement, in line with Stewart’s tenure as a community activist during her lifetime.
The recipient of the grant must also have a minimum 2.5 grade point average (GPA) in academics, similar to other scholarship and grant recipients under the East Central St James Education Awards programme, created by the East Central St James Scholarship and Welfare Fund which has been active since 1997.
Brown, a past student of Herbert Morrison Technical High School who is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in special education at the SSTC, continually fulfils both requirements in spades, as she helps younger residents of Barrett Town in their academics and also serves as a member of the community netball team.
“I volunteer at the local school whenever I leave my school early; after I leave my classes, I go and help the students with their homework, help with their lessons, and whatever they do not understand, I help them with it. I also help them with netball, as I am also a part of the community netball team, and I help with whatever event there is being held in the community,” Brown explained.
Asked why she wants to become a teacher for special-needs students, Brown stated that those students have the potential to be successful if given the chance.
“There are not a lot of special education teachers, so those students are there in the classroom not getting enough attention, and I want them to know that every child has an equal opportunity to become successful. Special-needs children do have their talents, they are gifted, and they have an equal opportunity to become successful just like any other individual,” said Brown.