“The struggle you’re facing today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow,” Robert Tew. Macy-Ann Taylor, born on the 23rd of June 2002, is a product of Petersville, a small rural community located in eastern Westmoreland. She is a deeply committed Christian with a strong working moral compass. Her journey has been a hard virtuous one with nonstop commitment; she never gave up hope. She is now a recipient of the Josephine Lilly Wolf Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship has now given her an opportunity that wasn’t given to anyone in her family.
At a tender age Macy-Ann started to showcase her thirst for success. She strongly believes that through hard work and dedication, anything is possible. Her parents saw her potential and were determined to make the necessary sacrifices for her to get the opportunity to fully maximize those potentials. At the age of two she started to attend the Petersville Basic School. She then graduated and went to the Petersville All Age School where she did exceptionally well. As a result of her outstanding performance, she only spent a month in grade one. She continued to excel well while making a great impact on her fellow peers. She was placed 1st in grades 3 to 6 and awarded class monitor at all grades. After sitting the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), she was awarded a place at her dream school, The Mannings School. In addition, she was awarded valedictorian, top girl performer, and top achiever for the year 2014.
While attending the Manning’s school, Macy-Ann was quite active being involved in several extra-curricular activities. She was a part of the track and field team for 4 years, where she represented her noble institution twice at the ISSA Boys and Girls Championship. She is also a part of the Key club, Girls Guide club and Inter-School Christian fellowship club. Though she has accomplished many things, the greatest achievement for her was being able to juggle two schools at once, Manning’s sixth form and Culloden Vocational Training Center, while suffering from back injuries she sustained from a motor vehicle accident. Other accomplishments that she has achieved include being awarded twice at The Manning’s school annual prize giving ceremony, receiving all 10 CSECs in distinctions and credits, being the executive secretary for The Jamaica Innovators Youth-Vision for Change (J.I.Y.V.C.), being a recipient of the Golden rule JA scholarship (2020-2021), and being certified as a professional freelancer by Internet Income Jamaica.
As Macy-Ann matriculates to the University of the West Indies, she wishes to pursue a career in business to become a human resource manager. She believes that pursuing this career will equip her with the necessary skills to develop programs that will assist young people in her community in gaining the necessary attitude and attributes for employment. She aims not only to be able to attend university, but also to make a difference in her community. Macy-Ann is determined to be a role model- a young lady that overcame all her obstacles and defied all odds. She strongly believes that education is the way out of poverty. As the famous Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Education is a key to unlock many doors and to become a productive citizen. She urges all fellow youths and alumni from previous schools to never give up despite the challenges. Anything is possible through hard work, determination, and perseverance.
