It wasn’t chance or luck, but faith and determination that propelled 27-year-old Lori-Ann Thompson to realising a dream that her family now celebrates like a victory.

Thompson, born and raised in Newfield District, Newport, Manchester, has brought pride and honour to her family and community when she graduated from The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, with a bachelor of laws degree in 2018. Now she is on the Norman Manley Law School pass list waiting to be called to the Bar.

“I am in the process of preparing my documents to be called to the Bar and to start my career as an attorney-at-law. I also want to practise law internationally, but for now my focus is on the present,” Thompson, who is currently an intern at the National Land Agency’s Adjudication Services Division, told the Jamaica Observer last Wednesday.

“When I think about my achievement, what comes to mind is that, ‘All my life you have been faithful.’ I am very grateful and in awe of God’s goodness,” Thompson said.

Her older brother, Carvel, also wanted to do law, but at the time their parents were not in a financial position to support him. Instead, he pursued teaching.

“He is extremely proud. For me to pursue law and be successful made him very proud of me. When I told my pastor the good news he laughed with joy and he kept saying that God is good and that it pays to be obedient and if we follow God we can’t go wrong.”

Describing the morning in July this year when exam results were published as “very stressful”, Thompson shared that, “All students knew the results were coming out and we were all so anxious. After refreshing my e-mail multiple times, I finally saw the results and clicked the document and scrolled. It was a bittersweet moment because I saw my first and last name. However, the middle name was incorrect so I was concerned that the name listed was not mine,” she related to the Observer.

“In my heart, I knew it was my name and it was just an error, but I did not want to be too sure, so I called the school to confirm. When the school finally confirmed that I had passed, I breathed a long sigh of relief and said, “Thank you, Jesus, you did it.”

Thompson is the youngest of four siblings. Her father Rudyard Thompson is as a mason and farmer, and her mother Audrey Thompson was a nurse. However, she was forced to stop working after developing pains in her hands that doctors said could be carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common condition that causes numbness, tingling, and pain in the hand and forearm when one of the major nerves to the hand — the median nerve — is squeezed or compressed as it travels through the wrist.

“My parents sacrificed a lot for all of us so that we can get a good education. My siblings, at the time, were young adults, so I had them as role models in my life to motivate me to seek to achieve the best. I was a sickly child, in and out of the hospital, wrongfully diagnosed with many different things, but I have been, and I still am, an overcomer,” the young attorney said.

“Growing up, I always loved to read, and so my mother let me join the library in Newport. Back then, the librarian used to say that I need to borrow about two to three books because I was coming back too soon to return the one book that I had borrowed to read.”

Thompson attended Bethabara Primary and Junior High School in Manchester. She recalled it being a challenging period for her family.

“At the time my parents could barely afford lunch money. When I got my GSAT [Grade Six Achievement Test] results, I passed for May Day High School. I was feeling very proud of myself and my parents and siblings were also pleased. It was then that my mother prayed for me and the words of her prayer were that I would be the most successful of all her children,” Thompson shared.

She sat the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations and passed eight subjects, then moved on to sixth form at Manchester High School, where she passed eight Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) subjects across units one and two.

Thompson told the Observer she was advised by her sociology teacher in high school to pursue law, as it would be a great fit. Still, she was a bit hesitant.

“However, I received a personal revelation at church one Sabbath, that law is the career that I should pursue, and that is what I did. I applied to only the law faculties for all colleges and universities, and I was accepted for all. However, I decided to read for my degree at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona.”

In 2014 Thompson started The UWI and moved to Kingston to be closer to school. “The school fee at UWI, Mona was US$10,000 per year, and my mother was hesitant at first to allow me to do law when she heard the cost, but when she saw my desire and determination, she said, ‘Don’t worry about it, God will make a way. All we need is for you to start.’ I’ve started school and now I am finished,” she said, relieved.

To raise funds, Thompson and her family joined forces with her church family and hosted a fish fry, which was supported by members of staff from the UWI.

Thompson completed her bachelor’s of law degree in 2018, but she had some difficulties when it was time to matriculate to Norman Manley Law School that same year.

“I was unable to immediately matriculate because my parents could not afford the school fee which, at the time, was over $1 million. I had applied to the law school and each time I had to defer because the money we came up with was just not enough. My prayers were finally answered and with the help of God, my family and friends, and especially my aunt, I was able to officially start school in 2019,” Thompson said.

But, even then, challenges persisted.

“Law school was as hard as I heard it was. I had time to do my research and to talk to other people who had already gone through the process. However, being in law school is much different than hearing about it. I thank God for Kemar and Rasheal, who I met during law school, they really supported and encouraged me during the entire experience.”

Exam preparation, she recalled, was very traumatic, and was made more difficult by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“It was my first time preparing for a law school exam, and I did not know how I would be examined or when, so the uncertainty was stressful. Nevertheless, I trusted God, I prayed, I fasted, and I studied. My church family and my immediate family always prayed for me,” she said.

“The long nights were not in vain. I remember one exam season I had a faulty bulb socket, so I had no ceiling light and I had to use flashlight and study for the exams during the nights. It was a very stressful time, but God brought me through it.”

The excitement with which she greeted her exam result was matched by her mother, who, Thompson said, “was screaming on the phone” when she received the call from her.

“When she finally calmed down, I heard her saying, ‘Thank you, Jesus.’ “

Her father, on the other hand, is a man of few words, “but I know he is proud of me because he keeps telling people that his daughter is a lawyer. My siblings and other family members are all proud of my achievement”.