Racquel Layne: Paying it forward

SHE is fun-loving, energetic, sociable, and is using her experiences to help pave the way for young people in inner-city communities.

Racquel Layne, 28, told All Woman that “paying it forward” through service is important to her, because had it not been for an unknown aunt who gave her the opportunity to get a tertiary education, many of her achievements to date would not exist.

Born and raised in the community of Waterhouse, Layne shared that she attended St Hugh’s High School before moving on to the University of the District of Columbia in Washington DC, where she studied administration of justice and minored in political science.

But prior to that, she pointed out that though she was not exposed to many of the difficulties in her community, life for her was still a struggle.

“I was exposed to the issues that persons from a lower economic background would face — crime, poverty, lack of parenting. It really didn’t affect me, but my counterparts and associates were affected. I was fortunate to have a strong mother and father figure in my life, though I was the outside child. I never like to use the term, but that was what I was — the product of my father’s cheating. But he was always in my life and I never felt limited or out of place.

“We had our struggles, but my mother told me not to become a product of my environment. As such, I lived in Waterhouse but I was not socialised in Waterhouse. She kept me busy outside so what I would do is my extracurricular activities, come home, sleep, then my day would start again. There were a lot of after-school programmes, community outreach, youth clubs, I was part of that community and saw the hardships certain people had to go through, but thankfully I did not go through many of them, but there were times my mother had to sacrifice some of her meals so we could eat,” she shared.

As a result, Layne said she knew from early on in life that excelling in school was the ticket to a better life.

But what she didn’t know was that her father, who had fallen ill when it was time for her to go to college, had made preparations with an aunt for her to have assistance to continue her education.

“She knew about me and he made one request of her — to assist me — and she agreed. I took the SATs, did well, and ventured into the unknown,” she said. “When I got to Washington, my aunt, who doesn’t take the bus, took it with me and showed me how to get to school. At first I thought she was unreasonable, but I learned to fend for myself.”

While at the University of DC, Layne was described as a campus superstar as she served as student government president from 2009 to 2011, making her the longest-serving president in the history of the university to date; she was initiated into the first black volunteer sorority — Alpha Kappa Alpha — and inducted into the Phi Eta Sigma National Honours Society for her exemplary GPA of 3.81.

She was also part of the International Students’ Association, started a French Club at the university, topped the College of Arts and Sciences each year, helped with the revamping of the Caribbean Students’ Association, and participated in several leadership conferences which include the annual National Association of Students Affairs Professional Leadership Conference held in Ocean City, Maryland; the Executive Council Leadership Conference in Winston Salem, North Carolina, and the Feminist Majority Annual Conference in Washington DC, where she presented on ‘Seeking positions of power: Feminists at the decision-making table’.

Layne was the recipient of the Thurgood Marshall Leadership Scholarship in New York City and also the Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges Certificate in 2009.

Today Layne has used her experiences to start two community-based initiatives in Waterhouse — a homework programme and the Waterhouse Young Professionals Association. She is also the youth resource officer for Western St Andrew Member of Parliament Anthony Hylton.

Through the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Layne, alongside her aunt Theresa Donaldson-DePass , a member of the Zion Mega chapter, recently donated book bags and school supplies to 120 children in Waterhouse.

“I never got a government scholarship to go abroad and study, but I gave myself a personal bond to come back home and impart the little I have learnt and help a few I can reach, and hopefully those few can help others and in turn find a solution to the real problems we’re having. The service I do is not for me. It doesn’t come with money but comes with a sense of fulfilling a purpose. If you leave this world not identifying or knowing your purpose you wouldn’t have lived, and my purpose is to be an example for other women, girls and boys who grew up in an environment like I did.”

Additionally, Layne who has a love for nature and enjoys the Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC, believes that each one should teach one and be a guiding light to others.

For young people she has one message: “Society does not define you, your actions define who you are and who you will become.”