Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 14, 2020 (SKNIS): Hundreds of young people attending the 2nd Annual National Consultation on Youth with the Federal Cabinet were inspired by two nationals of St. Kitts and Nevis who have forged successful career paths at a young age.
Tishon Thomas, the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of SKN IT Solutions, shared his experience growing up at the St. Christopher Children’s Home between the ages of 6 and 16 years, noting that it allowed him to discover a love for computers, gave him the perspective to appreciate the challenges in life and the motivation to solve problems.
The second panellist was Neisha Tweed-Bell, a Creative Strategist and People Manager at Facebook. She appeared via video link.
The panellists were able to engage with the persons in attendance which included high school students, representatives of youth organizations, young entrepreneurs and other interested individuals.
When asked about the path to success, Mr. Thomas advised persons to first get to know themselves, find what they are passionate about and to chart a pathway taking one step at a time. Mrs. Tweed-Bell agreed and noted that key ingredients of success included setting goals, building meaningful relationships, giving positive energy, and being confident but not arrogant.
Questions from the audience included what employers are looking for in prospective employees, striking a balance between family and work obligations, developing positive attitudes, dismissing ‘haters’, and employing problem-solving techniques to challenges.
Lebron Senior, a 4th Form student of the Gingerland Secondary School, said the presentations were “very inspirational.”
“I don’t really have a plan as yet in terms of what I want to do [as a career] but this presentation really helped me to sit down and to begin to think about what I really want to do,” he stated.
A big takeaway for the young man was to implement problem-solving to issues that may arise rather than sitting down and pouting.
Meanwhile, Tishon Thomas said that he was pleased with the forum.
“The experience was very good. I found that the audience was very engaging, the young people were actually interested in what to do to become successful, how to be better in terms of attitude, and career goals,” Mr. Thomas stated. “My take away from this session is that our future is very bright, our young people are not lost, our young people are more focused than we think, and this … affirms that there are a lot of positive young people.”