THE first black valedictorian at her US high school, the recipient of a full-ride scholarship to Harvard University, and one of the Ivy League institution’s youngest instructors when she was appointed in 2020, Jamaican-American Shanelle Davis credits God for her success.

Born and raised in the United States to Jamaican parents, the 28-year-old said she was taught the value of faith from an early age. Her frequent trips to her parents’ homeland, which saw her spending her childhood visiting the community of Maverley in St Andrew, and attending church with her grandmother Hyacinth Williams, helped to lay her strong foundation in Christ.

“When I came to Jamaica, no matter what, we knew every Sunday I was going to church. My grandmother has been so pivotal in my journey, and she would always say, ‘Remember that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.’ So, no matter what the challenge was, I always had that sentiment in my mind from her,” Davis told the Jamaica Observer.

She recalled that in her moments of uncertainty about her future, it was God who guided her and opened doors to opportunities she never thought possible.

Before she graduated Benjamin Cardozo High School in Queens, New York, the young woman admitted that she was limited in her thinking, as her plans were to attend college in New York. However, she was encouraged by her legal outreach advisor to apply to Harvard University.

“Most colleges have an early action programme, which is where you would apply to the school a little early and then whatever decision is made, it’s not binding, so you kind of get a trial in the college application process. She [advisor] said, ‘Why don’t you just try applying to Harvard? If they say no, then they said no, but you move on to the next round for the other schools, and if they say yes, then great,’ ” Davis recounted.

“I laughed and I said, ‘I don’t think I’m going to get into Harvard, but just because you said to do it, I’ll do it.’ To the miracle of the Lord, I got in, and they said I didn’t have to pay anything,” she told the Sunday Observer.

In what she described as a surreal moment, Davis’s overjoyed parents celebrated her acceptance to the Massachusetts university in true Jamaican style, contacting relatives and friends to share the exciting news. Harvard was set in stone as her school of choice, and applying to other universities seemed pointless, given her full scholarship.

Following the path she took in high school, Davis pursued an undergraduate degree in mathematics — a decision that was solidified when she witnessed the passion professors and lecturers in the department had for the subject area.

“I considered mathematics to be a language, and in learning any new language, there are challenges; but what kind of stuck out to me was the teachers and the faculty members. No matter where you came in, in terms of the background that you had from high school, or from the first class that you took, they really invested in the students and took their time in the sense of no matter [what level at which] you’re coming in, all of us are going to improve once we exit,” she shared.

For four years, she crunched numbers and solved equations, often engaging in study sessions in which she taught her classmates the ins and outs of problem-solving. Two years in, Davis said she was singled out to be a course assistant for students in classes she had already taken.

By the time she graduated from Harvard in 2018, she’d built a strong relationship with the lecturers and professors in her department, and two years later — at 23 years old — she became one of the youngest instructors at the university.

“To God be the glory. It’s a testament to Him because I don’t know how [else]; at 23 years old, at that time I only had the bachelor’s [degree], so that is only God,” she said, struggling to find the words to express her emotions.

She shared that pursuing an education at Harvard was not an easy task, as there were many late nights and lengthy study sessions. Many students often cracked under the pressure, Davis said as she recalled a horrific incident in which a student ended their life. Despite the struggle, she found hope and strength in knowing that God was always with her.

“I often think about the verse that says, ‘God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that you can ask, think, or even imagine.’ I think that moment was exceedingly and abundantly above all that I could have asked or imagined,” she said about being appointed as an instructor.

“Just to think back to not wanting to leave New York, to being able to attend Harvard, and then to now be teaching at an institution that I never imagined even attending is just simply a blessing — and I think it’s also an opportunity to just be at the hands and feet of Christ,” she told the Sunday Observer.

Davis shared that on her visits to Jamaica, one of the things that always stood out to her was that education is such a big part of the culture, with many families sacrificing their last to ensure their children got a good education, essentially laying the foundation for a better future. She said these experiences pushed her to make use of every opportunity she got, and now she seeks to help other students do the same.

A calculus instructor, Davis recently completed her master’s in education leadership, organisations, and entrepreneurship at Harvard Graduate School of Education. She now considers her role as an opportunity to pay it forward and enable students to have the same college experience she had or an even better one.

“There are individuals who may say, ‘I’m not a mathematics person,’ and that is an identity or a sentiment that they hold. One of the greatest joys from my experience as a course assistant to now an instructor is being able to walk along with students to see them move from a sentiment of ‘I’m not a mathematics person, I can’t do this,’ to, ‘Something clicked, I can understand this; this is something that I can work towards accomplishing as well.’ It is a blessing,” Davis told the Sunday Observer.

She shared that along the way, she’s crossed paths with many Jamaican students.

“There are a lot of students who come in kind of worried about leaving home, worried about whether they’re able to succeed at this institution. I think seeing a face that is able to encourage them and let them know, ‘No matter what difficulties may arise, you’re here, you belong here, you’re going to be able to progress and walk away with this degree,’ ” she said.

Davis noted, too, that although she wasn’t born in Jamaica, she is deeply connected to her heritage and claims it as her identity.

“When I introduce myself, I say, ‘I’m Jamaican-American,’ and that will always be the case. It’s not American Jamaican, because I do pride my Jamaican heritage; it has carried me and walks with me in everything that I do,” she said.

Jamaican-American Shanelle Davis, 28, is an instructor at Harvard University.

Graduate Shanelle Davis, her father Evan Davis (left), mother Keithia Hall McDonald (right) and brother Evan Davis Jr pose for a family photo after her undergraduate graduation ceremony in 2018.