Donna Nelson's Website

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ABOUT ME

My name is Donna Nelson. I was born in the parish of Kingston, Jamaica, on April 9, 1959 to Veronica Walker and Donald Sterne. My parents were both in their late teens (age 19) when I was conceived. They never married. After having two other children, a boy and a girl, they separated. My father was very irresponsible and he was also unemployed. Consequently, my mother was left with three small children to ‘mother’ and ‘father’ all by herself. Years later she made four additions to the family – two boys and two girls.

Life was very difficult for the family, as our mother had to work long hours, doing various types of jobs to put food on the table, a roof over our heads, and to send us all to school. As a result of these times, I was forced to assume the role of taking care of my siblings. I always vowed that when I grew up, my life would be the opposite of that of my mother’s. Ironically, I made the same mistake my mother had made, by becoming a mother at age 20. Life became difficult for me in my early days as a young mother, but I felt the need to stand up, be a woman, and face the hardships ‘head on’. I also knew that I would not have half the number of children my mother did.

It appeared history was repeating itself when I realised that I, like my mother, was now a single mother. Because of this, I had to drop out of commercial college to seek employment to support my child, a son, Dwayne. It was also because of this that I was unable to resume further studies until 1991.

I was, however, fortunate to have attained a high school education. This was because of my mother’s tenacity and drive to do all she could for her children in this regard. I pursued the course of study dealing with the Certified Professional Secretary in 1991 and completed this in 1992. In 1994 I went on to the Certificate in Public Education and did this fulltime and was awarded this certificate in 1995. I finally decided to pursue the Bachelors degree in Professional Management, offered by Nova Southeastern University. I have completed one year and have, so far, passed all the courses I have done. I hope to be awarded this degree in 2004.

My career path began when I became a Secretary at the age of 20 and I was a Secretary up to July 2001. I have, since, been promoted to Training and Education Officer at the Jamaica Institute of Bankers. The Institute administers, through distance learning, the MBA programme offered by the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. We currently have 280 active students. The Institute is responsible for serving students in Jamaica and the Eastern Caribbean. My job is very interesting and it gives me a sense of fulfilment. It affords me the opportunity to travel, attend conferences and meetings and to build on my confidence.