Frankfield family makes UWI second home
Published:Wednesday | November 2, 2022 | 12:07 AM
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Matriculation to university is not a routine rite of passage in his hometown of Frankfield, says Stephen Richards. In fact, he says he can count on one hand the number of youth from the rural Clarendon community who he knows have attained higher...
Matriculation to university is not a routine rite of passage in his hometown of Frankfield, says Stephen Richards.
In fact, he says he can count on one hand the number of youth from the rural Clarendon community who he knows have attained higher education.
But the lack of role models in his immediate surroundings did not discourage him and his four siblings. Instead, it served as an inspiration.
On Friday, Richards will collect his master’s degree in developmental studies from The University of the West Indies (UWI) at the graduation ceremony.
The 29-year-old’s older sister Yannique Richards is enrolled in a Master of Education in educational psychology programme; brother Marvin Richards is pursuing a master’s in business management; and Jenieve Richards is reading for a BSc in accounting and management studies. All three will graduate next year.
Another brother, Duane Richards, is pursuing commercial food preparation at the HEART Trust NSTA.
“We are not rich,” Richards said, noting that his family’s finances were not a big enough deterrent to pursue their dreams. The siblings had the strong support of their parents. Stephen’s father is a pastor and both parents are farmers who sell their produce in markets.
“It was their desire for excellence for them to witness their children go beyond where they have reached. That’s what pushed them to go the extra mile and put out the extra sacrifice. Their lives have been challenging and they wanted to give us a better start in life,” he said.
But his parents’ support was not enough to shield Richards from some challenges, especially when he was pursuing his first degree in social work at The UWI in 2012.
He shared that he could not get a student loan as his older sister had already booked the same guarantors.
According to Richards, he went to university completely on faith. During his first year, he was locked out of exams as he did not pay all of his tuition. Richards said the emotional toll caused him to consider dropping out of school.
“It was one of the most difficult periods of my life. I went through that phase and I say, ‘Boy, probably it make sense mi go back a country and mi just try out di police t’ing because this t’ing nah go work fi mi’,”the former Edwin Allen High student said.
His mother, Marcia Richards, remembers that moment all too well.
“There were many times that we didn’t even see our way out. He came to me and he said, ‘Mom, dem block mi from exam because mi school fee nuh pay’, and I said to him, ‘Student, I don’t know what to do, but I’m going to pray’,” she told The Gleaner.
Her prayers were answered and, acting on faith, Richards pleaded his cause to the Office of Student Services & Development of The UWI that gave him permission to sit his exams with his fees still outstanding.
“It worked out amazing, and at the end of the year, the money was paid, but I can’t even tell you how the money was paid,” he said.
Stephen said that his parents’ support and grants he received from the university assisted him with his tuition. He also took advantage of whatever social programmes were on campus to offset food costs.
His beaming mother said she is proud that Stephen got scholarship after scholarship.
Calling his success the result of “divine favour”, Marcia recalled her husband once suggesting that Stephen get a job.
“I know that there’s no work in Frankfield for him to work and save and go to college, and I said to him, ‘I’d rather clean somebody floor to let them go through to get a better education that I didn’t get’,” she said.
In 2015, Richards graduated with his first degree and went on to work as a social development officer at the National Housing Trust branch in St Ann a year later.
Two years ago, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he returned to school part-time to pursue his master’s.
This time, the father of one said he was able to pay for it from pocket.
“When you trust God, and you serve Him, His promises hold true, and it allowed me to have more confidence in God’s promise for my life and the destiny that He has for me, knowing that He would keep me and He would have allowed me to accomplished all these things,” Richards said.