FOR many commuters who travel on Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) buses, seeing vendors selling snacks, sweet treats, wipes, and other goodies is a familiar sight. However, for Abigail Simpson, selling wafers on these daily routes isn’t just a hustle — it is a lifeline.

The third-year The University of the West Indies (The UWI) student turned to vending on buses to help finance her education after experiencing financial difficulties, which forced her to put her childhood dream of becoming a lawyer on hold.

“I used to do law at UWI before I transitioned to banking and finance. I was unable to get financial clearance to take my exams, so I decided to switch to the cheaper alternative, which was banking and finance,” Simpson told the Jamaica Observer aboard a Portmore to downtown Kingston JUTC bus last Monday as she sought to get some afternoon sales.

She explained that since she had completed some courses at the Faculty of Law in the first year before switching majors, she had the prerequisites for a minor in law.

“So instead of doing the major, I’m doing the minor instead; but the thing is, I don’t really have financial support, that’s why I’m doing this [selling on buses],” she said.

Simpson told the Sunday Observer that she has always been passionate about becoming a lawyer. With that goal in mind, she ensured she did the necessary Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects that would allow her to matriculate into the law programme at The UWI.

A past student of both Eltham High School and St Jago High School — which she attended for sixth form due to the COVID-19 pandemic —Simpson was uncertain about her next step after completing high school in 2021. So, she opted to enter the workforce with the intention of saving towards financing higher education.

“I was a bit discouraged, because it has been a dream since I was a child, and to know that I have to switch due to financial reasons, it somewhat breaks my heart. Sometimes I blame myself, but the thing is, I’m learning now that sometimes you have to deviate from the path to get back on it. The beauty about doing the minor in law…if in the future I want to pursue law, I’m able to go back and just [complete] the two years,” she said.

The UWI student explained that her journey into entrepreneurship began after repeated attempts to secure financial assistance to complete her studies proved unsuccessful. She reached out to her neighbour, at the time — who was a supervisor at Peak Bottling Company Limited, which is responsible for the bottling, marketing and distribution of pure spring water under the Catherine’s Peak label — for assistance. Catherine’s Peak water became the first product she sold, with the proceeds going towards her tuition.

Over time she’s evolved to selling wafers on buses to help cover the cost of her education.

“I know that there is brighter days ahead of me…I don’t really feel comfortable doing this, but the thing is, you have to do what you have to do. If you want good, you nose have to run,” she told the Sunday Observer.

Simpson, who currently lives on campus, shared that she schedules her hustle around her classes, sometimes heading out in the morning and on other days, selling in the afternoon, depending on her timetable.

But the journey has not always been smooth sailing for the third-year student, who recalled encounters of being cursed at on the buses.

“Preachers cuss me; beggars cuss me. Everybody cuss me, but I try to wear my ID [identification card]. Because, at first, I never used to wear my ID but I realised it caused some issues, so I started wearing my ID to say I’m a student. I would want some support because, honestly, it is hectic to be going to school, selling, studying, [doing] exams [and] projects,” she said.

Despite the demands of balancing her studies with selling, Simpson remains active in university life. She is the assistant cultural and external affairs coordinator on her hall of residence and participates in clubs and societies on campus, including the Young Investors Club and The UWI Banking League.

She is also the sport manager for The UWI netball team, for which she earns a stipend, and she also tutors CSEC students and assists with projects.