In college Keriffe Clark would buy a 24-pack of sausages (frankfurters) and eat one per day to survive, despite financial challenges.

With that strategy, the pack would suffice for a month. Some days, he depended on the fruits on campus.

He grew up in the rural community of Pennants in Clarendon with his parents, two brothers and three of four sisters in a two-bedroom house his mother inherited from her grandparents. Though neither parent had a stable job with sure income, Clark said they did everything so the family could be comfortable.

His father, Ervin Clark, was a farmer who cultivated sugar cane and seasonal crops such as pumpkin, sweet potato, yam and cucumber, while his mother, Joan Clark, for the most part, was unemployed during his formative years and spent her years catering to him and his siblings.

The foundation laid by his parents prepared him for what was to come, as today, Clark, 37, is employed by the Ministry of Education, and works as a programmes officer at the National College for Educational Leadership (NCEL). There, he manages, coordinates and oversees the recruitment, training, and certification of school leaders across the seven educational administrative regions in Jamaica.

“I feel grateful for each opportunity, each struggle and each disappointment as they have all played a role in my life to become a better version of myself, understanding that a part of my purpose in this life is to make the lives of others better in tangible and intangible ways. Through the NCEL, I have also facilitated training with school leaders in the Turks and Caicos Islands,” he told the Jamaica Observer in an interview.

“As I reflect on my journey to date, I continue to be grateful for all that I have accomplished and to give thanks for the remarkable individuals who have contributed to my development. I have been blessed to always have God-fearing, resilient and caring women who have mentored, nurtured, provided for and guided me. I also salute the men in my life who have played significant roles in my grooming and development.”

Since being employed by the education ministry, Clark has been consistently awarded as a top-performing officer. Further, for the 2020-2021 financial year, he was awarded the top-performing officer across all agencies in the ministry.

But there were days when things were so bitter, that such a sweet present couldn’t be visualised. Their house had a wooden floor that deteriorated over time, causing gaps and holes. In their bedrooms, they had to position their beds to cover the holes to prevent them from falling into the cellar.

“My parents made a living from what they knew how to do — farming and sewing. On occasion, especially during the back-to-school period, my mother received orders to sew school uniform from persons in the community. While she was never formally trained, she honed this craft, and this was her primary source of income. Like many others in the community, we were not an affluent family. But, thanks to my father’s ground provisions, we were never wanting of something to eat,” Clark told the Sunday Observer.

And as children, he said his mother instilled in them a sense of being grateful for provisions made. And so, they were very involved on the farm.

“We were never exempt from farming activities. We had to wake early mornings to go to bush, to plant or harvest crops or even to take breakfast to daddy before we went to school. We also had fruit trees at home such as ackee and orange trees, so we would pick those and sell them as a source of income.”

Clark said as he got older, he truly began to understand the “many sacrifices” of his parents.

“They shielded my siblings and I from the realities of being poor. There were days when there was only enough for bus fare to and from school. Or, on occasions, I used to receive $100 per day during my high school years and I had to wait until the end of the school day to buy lunch. At that point, patties and other pastries would be sold at half price which would then mean that I could afford something to eat,” he recalled.

Clark’s education journey started at Pennants Basic school. He then attended John Austin All-Age where he completed primary level education. After sitting the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), he was placed at Edwin Allen High School.

However, his father wanted him to attend Clarendon College which was closer to home. Also, two of his siblings attended Clarendon College, and he and his other brother and would be in the same school though a year apart.

“Additionally, my parents would not have to worry about the annual expenses of purchasing new textbooks that could be passed down and having to attend separate parent consultations. It was a matter of killing two birds with one stone,” he explained.

“In those days, schools offered entrance tests to students, albeit GSAT being the national exam for entry into secondary schools. I failed that entrance test. However, my parents were able to transfer me from Edwin Allen High to Clarendon College based on my performance in GSAT,” he added.

As he transitioned to upper school, he discovered a passion for two subjects, Spanish and food & nutrition. At that point, his desire was to pursue vocational training at HEART to become a chef, but that didn’t materialise after his grade 11 food and nutrition teacher did not recommend him to sit the subject at Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level.

“I felt as though my dream was shattered. I entered a period of going through the motion for months without being able to articulate this to anyone.”

He was then encouraged by his Spanish teacher and eldest sister to apply to Shortwood Teachers’ College to study Spanish and English. This plan was met with disappointment, as at the end of high school, he had only passed four CSEC subjects and Shortwood required a minimum of five.

“However, I was accepted into college under the condition that I pursue and obtain a fifth subject in my first year. I was introduced to French at the college level and with the help of my lecturer, I was able to attain a straight A profile in CSEC in seven months,” he said, noting that he did a double major in Spanish and French.

But during his second semester, he was placed on academic probation based on what he described as a “dismal performance” in a course.

“I struggled with the transition from being a high school student to a college student. Classes now lasted for two to three hours and living on campus was a new experience. Nonetheless, at the end of my first year, I was awarded as the most improved student, and I received the award for Francophone Culture and Civilisation. Since then, I have been the recipient of a number of academic awards.”

A programme was offered through the French Embassy, where graduates go to France as language assistants to improve knowledge and competencies in the language. It was heavily encouraged by lecturers at Shortwood.

One of his lecturers, Rusheyne Ferguson, told him that her mother would give him a loan to go to France, and that another lecturer from France would cover his travel expenses on condition that he would repay her once he had settled in France.

“That opportunity allowed me to improve my knowledge and skills in the French language and I was able to repay all loans and clear my balance at Shortwood upon my return to Jamaica. It was at this point that I was able to collect my teaching diploma. So, in a nutshell, I returned to Jamaica financially broke but rich with exposure and benefits of living and working in Europe,” he told the Sunday Observer.

Upon returning, he taught Spanish and French at St Andrew High School for Girls and St George’s College and then worked as a teacher educator at Shortwood. By 2016, he started his master’s degree in curriculum development at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona.

“I graduated with distinction and at this point, I was the first in my immediate family to have completed both graduate and undergraduate degrees and to have done so with the highest honours,” he said.