Joyce Malcolm-Hewitt: Administrative Professional of the Year

Her career objective states "To utilise my knowledge, skills, and experience, in a professional manner, to serve others." With that in mind, it should be no wonder Joyce Malcolm-Hewitt was named All-Island Administrative Professional of the Year by the Jamaica Association of Administrative Professionals (JAAP) earlier this month. So far, she has only had one place of employment, Northern Caribbean University (NCU).

"After graduation, I was just sitting at home, and people encouraged me to send in an application to the HR department," she recalled. There was a post in the Department of Nursing and so, from October 1995 to September 2009, she worked as a secretary (the 'administrative' term wasn't the norm then). Currently, she is an administrative assistant at the institution's records office.

needed a change

"I felt like I needed a change, because change is always good. I wanted to be more than any ordinary secretary. I love customer service and interacting with people on a daily basis." Even then, she was still apprehensive about changing departments, but after a few days of weighing the pros and cons, she made up her mind. Her current job has worked out perfectly, as she is always meeting a wide range of people whether verifying student records or processing degrees.

She has school ties to NCU as well, holding a clerical certificate from the then-named West Indies College. She has completed and passed a number of JAAP workshops. She also has an associate of science degree in office systems and administration from NCU. Always looking to improve herself, Malcolm-Hewitt is currently pursuing a bachelor of arts degree in mass communication at NCU. Family and work commitments (she's studying part-time) haven't caused her much consternation. Ironically, the Communication Studies department is chaired by the All-Island Boss of the Year, Elaine Oxamendi Vicet.

"I'm doing it (the degree) slowly but surely. I'm not in a hurry because I already have a job," she chuckled. It's probably this easy-going nature, along with rigorous preparation, that helped her during the All-Island Administrative Professional of the Year competition.

"The training really pulled a lot out of me. It really improved my critical-thinking skills and I learned a lot about the profession," she revealed. Among the skills she developed was the ability to analyse questions 'on the spot'. She is disappointed, though, at the number of chapters (four) that exist in her region.

"A noble association like this ... I would love to see more chapters coming out." Malcolm-Hewitt had experience with the competition before, as she would watch the training sessions to get a feel for it. She then entered at the parish level in 2005, but didn't progress to the national competition. After attending last year's national final, she said she felt she could do it.

"I said to myself, 'I am going to enter when I know I am going to win'. Last year when I saw Kingston take the title, I was confident I was going to bring it home to Manchester," she said.

"The minute you begin to get nervous, you run the risk of going blank. So I asked myself, 'what are you afraid of?'. But it (winning) has made me see that you can be whatever you want to be." She cited the support of her boss, NCU Registrar Avery Thompson. They both believe family comes first, and Thompson is always supportive of continuing education. But what about being her own boss? She admitted she has thought about it; specifically, something like a home for street people.

"I love to serve, it humbles me so much. I want to reach out to the less fortunate, because it gives me a lot of satisfaction. I don't know, but (until then) I'll serve where I can."

daviot.kelly@gleanerjm.com