Latoya Thompson-Hall: The dedication of Ruth

GROWING up, she experienced what it meant to have a village raise a child, and she is now determined to contribute meaningfully to the growth and development of young children.

Born in Kingston and raised in the Waltham Park community, Latoya Thompson- Hall, affectionately called ‘Ruth’, spent most of her days playing with her community friends and being her brothers’ keeper, which she said aided in shaping her well-rounded personality.

“People will say when you’re in the inner city it’s more crime and violence, but from my standpoint that wasn’t my experience. I had more interaction, playing games with others like stuckie and dandy-shandy. We had a community club where people would go and do schoolwork together and the more advanced students would be there helping us. It was more of shaping you in the person you needed to be,” she said.

And so Thompson-Hall, a mother of one and a sales specialist at CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank, is focused on making early childhood education a top priority in the lives of children she is privileged to reach.

A reason for her commitment lies in the fact that after leaving sixth form at the Convent of Mercy (Alpha) Academy, Thompson- Hall, who now holds a master of business administration in general management, started working at FirstCaribbean as a HEART trainee after making the national female football squad and refusing the offer.

“My mother was adamant that getting an education was more important,” she said.

As a result she developed a resilient spirit and worked her way up to a branch ambassador, received a promotion in the Wealth Management Department, then it was on to the Mortgage And Sales Department where she currently serves.

She said she realised her job provided a platform for her professional growth and she was just as valued as other members of staff who provided the support she needed, hence the onus is on her to provide support for others and children are her choice.

As such, Thompson-Hall, who has always been outspoken and captained many teams including her high school hockey and football squad, was selected as one of seven University of the West Indies students and captain of the team to participate in the Bill Clinton Hult Prize competition, where college students are charged with developing ideas for social enterprises that can conquer modern time’s most solvable global challenges. This year’s challenge is how to improve early childhood education.

“This is the sixth year that it is around; we are the first university in Jamaica to enter that competition and also the first university in the Caribbean. We have made it to the regional finals in Boston to be held March 13 and 14. We will be participating against other schools such as MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Stanford,” Thompson- Hall said.

The team, which comprises students from a range of disciplines at the university, will show how nutrition and a safe environment can improve early childhood education.

“Once you are able to provide proper nutrition, communicate with a child and ensure the child is in a safe environment where it’s not abusive, then that automatically will assist in their development. If you have a child who learns meaningfully in that stage, the child will come to contribute positively to society. However, if the child isn’t exposed properly or there are learning disabilities and the child has been hindered significantly, then in the future it will cost you four times the amount of money to actually take that child onto the path of growth and development, which is costly in any economy,” she said.

When not in the banking sector or working alongside her team for the Hult Prize, Thompson-Hall can be found with family or in the inner city providing support to children who are not at school, currently doing CXCs, or on the UWI campus assisting in an area of need.

“What we (myself and other friends) do is go there as a group once or twice a month and interact with children and parents. If you can get these parents to understand the importance of education and see that the future is near and not far, and create a platform where a child can play and grow, it makes a world of difference,” she said.

“I strategise to ensure I accomplish everything. The future is tomorrow and if you can assist someone’s standard of living by offering guidance you’re doing something. If every parent can come together and assist those who are unfortunate we can have a better world and by extension a better country.”

Also a business mentor at Jamaica Youth for Business Trust, where she advises young entrepreneurs on how to improve their businesses, Thompson-Hall holds fast to Mahatma Gandhi’s quote to be the change you wish to see in the world.

“In life aim for the sky. Never say never.”