Teen mom graduates university at 30

WHILE most 16-year-old girls were planning to leave high school to move on to sixth form or community college, Patricia Clarke was preparing to have her first son. About a year later she continued the cycle by getting pregnant again, and she admits that life at that point, as a single mother, was “beyond rough”.

“I had many hungry days; years of not being able to afford the simplest things in life. At one point I worked as a bartender to feed myself and my boys. I have done house cleaning, and I have also tried the age-old remedy of being in relationships so that the men could help me, but none of that worked,” she shared.

To make it even more difficult, she found herself constantly in conflict with her family members, since she was living in their home, unemployed, and without any support. But this brave mother did not give up hope, gave her life to God, and experienced a major breakthrough.

She received a ‘second mother’ in the form of Christine West, the woman she describes as her only strength to date.

“She’s my only source of financial help, my counsellor, burden bearer and everything. She is the person behind my success even now, along with God,” Clarke relayed.

But though some of her burdens were lifted, there were still some things that had to be dealt with. She stopped working as a bartender because she became a Christian, and although she had training from the HEART Trust/NTA, she did not have proper documentation since her mother did not register her at birth; hence no one would hire her.

It was West who would help her secure a birth certificate, and Clarke applied for university right after receiving it because she knew that having a degree was the only way to secure a future for her boys.

“I did not know how I was going to afford university, but the idea of not being able to send them through high school and help them have a meaningful future was enough to make me fight,” she shared.

She enrolled at Northern Caribbean University in January 2013, and is going to be a part of the December 2016 conferral if all goes well.

She has always maintained a high grade point average, which has allowed her to always be on the dean’s list, magna cum laude. She has received the Byron Robinson scholarship twice, and at one point she was working on campus from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm on weekdays to make ends meet.

She said as far as rent, food and taking care of her children’s needs, West has been the main contributor to those.

Clarke, 30, describes her journey as a mother and a student as very hard because the pressure of balancing both lives has been overwhelming with school work, housework and complaints from her sons who miss her dearly.

Many times she says she finds herself breaking down in tears; nevertheless, she relies on her ‘mom’ and God for strength.

“Trust God. Do not give up,” she assures others in similar situations.

“Understand that giving up will send the wrong signal to your children and those around you.”

Kimberley Ennis, a student of Northern Caribbean University, has written the above to satisfy the requirements for completing the school’s journalism programme.