About 2 months ago, I attended a Super Bowl Party at the home of one of my homegirls, Sheena Hutchinson. During this get-together, I had the pleasure of meeting 3 amazing and ambitious young ladies who are currently freshmen at Howard University, located here in Washington, D.C. As we conversed and clowned (lol) I observed a unique, yet very special bond that these 3 amigas had.

My amazement increased once they began to share their stories. I don't want to spoil it for you, so I'll let you read it. I will share the story of each phenomenal woman in her own separate post. First up, is Jasmine (the cousin of Sheena). Enjoy!

"One of the biggest impacts on anyone's life is family. I always admired the strides made by my grandparents. My grandmother did whatever she could back home in Jamaica, taking care of her children. While my grandfather was determined to make a better life for his children by working too soon travel to the United States to make a better life for his family. He worked multiple jobs day and night to make ends meet and on top of that build the family house from the ground up. It wasn’t much bigger than a living room but it became the home to my grandparents, their 8 kids, and anyone else my grandmother welcomed in.

My mother saw this and took the values that were instilled in her and applied it to her life and passed it down to her kids. She was determined to live "the American dream." I always idolized my mother for taking the little given to her and making it better. My grandmother did what she could but she was spread thin over many kids, so my mother was left to her own devices. She went to work at the age of 16. Eventually, she put herself through college and then she began work as a teacher. She cared for a multitude of kids just as my grandmother once did.

When I look back at where my family came from I can’t help but to want to honor my family by being great and doing great things. In sixth grade, I planned what the rest of my life would look like. I planned to be on the same path as my mother, going to school to become a teacher and then getting married and having kids. It would be a quiet path that I felt like I had the ability to handle. I soon understood that I had the capacity to do more. In high school, I began my quest for something greater. I joined countless clubs and sports trying to make connections and finding what I am interested in. I found myself mainly invested and attracted to organizations involving the medical field.

I was apart of the Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) and the Stratford EMS Explorers. In HOSA, we would have speakers come in and talk about their experience in the medical field and what sparked their interest in the first place. It was from this I saw how much the medical field evolved and how much I would be on my toes. Through HOSA we had statewide competitions where we were tested on our knowledge of certain medical professions. I competed in the EMT competition with a partner and won. We were able to attend the National Leadership Conference in California. From there I was exposed to an even bigger portion of the medical field. In the Stratford EMS Explorers, we had weekly meetings that taught us about being an EMT and we were able to take the skills that we learned and put it to use by volunteering on the ambulance. By my senior year, the post was beginning to weaken and was on the verge of being shut down. I couldn’t bear that happen so I rallied together with the older explorers and I was given the opportunity to run the post alongside two other girls. We passed on any knowledge of the medical field we have learned and bring in people who work in the medical field to share their experience with the explorers from the post.

In college and looking back, I realized I have so much more potential than I realized. I was holding myself back because I was stuck in what others wanted to see in me. When I first had thoughts of going to medical school and being a doctor, I thought I was reaching too high and then I realized I wasn’t reaching high enough. I want to be a model to young girls everywhere. I want them to know that they can do whatever they set their mind to. All you need is a little hard work to get there."

Jasmine, hunny, you are so PHENOMENAL. You're already acting as a model to many young girls and you probably haven't realized it yet. Just wait to see all that are blessed by your actions, presence, and determination. Keep striving for greatness girl!

A Trio of Phenomenal Women- Jasmine Haughton