Dear Editor,

To have a dream is only the beginning. To be able to manifest that dream is a lifelong process of self-discovery. As I watched the recent videos of St Catherine High School’s social media, seeing Grace “Spice” Hamilton vibrating with joy in Pascal Hall, I couldn’t help but reflect on the first day I walked in that same space.

Spaces hold memories. They hold vibrations of the past, echoes of lived lives that have walked on its soils, and the joy of the young minds that dreamt in that room. Pascall Hall is the space where many a young talent was discovered, honed, and given permission to actualise. Hamilton was one of those young minds.

As I watched her, you could see her transposed back to that young memory, but now with another perspective. She now had the attention of young dreamers, thinkers, and leaders, and through a lived experience she understands the power of a dream manifested. She understands how sacred that moment was. As she poured into them those invaluable insights, lessons of how to navigate feelings of self-doubt, personal conversations with God, understanding what real support looks like, real love, financial awareness, gratitude, sacrifice, and the personal definition of success, they became more empowered.

They received tools that I wished I heard from a source that was accessible at an impressionable age.

I applaud Hamilton for using her activism to invite us into solidarity. And I’m excited to see the future in which one of those young minds sitting in that hall returns and passes on new lessons to the next generation.

Professor Jermaine Rowe

New York, New York, USA

jermainerowe@gmail.com