Debbie Buck is exploring Jamaica through GraceKennedy internship
June 16, 2022
A few days before COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill, University of Winnipeg student Debbie Buck was over the moon.
As the Canadian representative in the GraceKennedy summer internship program in Jamaica, she was going to join students from the United States and England in the five-week birthright program started in 2004 to help broaden the horizons of second and third generation Jamaican students residing in the Diaspora.
After a two-year pandemic lockdown, Buck is in Jamaica for the program that started on June 1 and ends on July 8.
She admits the long wait was stressful.
“It was something,” said Buck who was the recipient of a Congress of Black Women Mississauga & Area chapter scholarship in July 2019. “It got the point where I asked myself if it was ever going to happen. Now it’s happening and there is an adrenalin rush right now for sure.”
She learnt about the program through a Jamaican exchange student who spent a semester at the University of Winnipeg.
“While scrolling through the ‘Jamaica Gleaner’ Instagram page, she saw an advertisement and texted me saying, ‘Hey Deb, I think you might be interested in this opportunity’,” Buck, whose parents are Jamaican immigrants, recalled. “I went ahead and applied even though I thought I wouldn’t be selected.”
A regular visitor to Jamaica, she anticipates this trip will be different.
“I hope to see more of the island,” Buck, whose last visit was in 2018, said. “Every time I have gone there, it was to see family and hang out with them. This opportunity allows me to go to the various parishes and learn more about my heritage. I will also get some-hands experience in areas I have an interest in.”
Enrolled in the four-year Bachelor of Science Athletic Therapy program that focuses on the prevention and care of muscle, bone and joint injuries that occur in the workplace, sport and recreation, she plans to study Midwifery.
“The aim at the end of my academic journey is to open a clinic to help athletes with sports injuries and mothers fix their bodies after pregnancy,” the third-year student said.
Debbie Buck is Canada’s representative in this year’s GraceKennedy Summer Internship program in Jamaica (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
GraceKennedy is thrilled Buck is available to participate this year after her placement was deferred.
“Debbie stood out to us because of her love and interest in deepening her connection to Jamaica,” said GraceKennedy Foundation (GKF) Project Officer Crystal-Gayle Williams. “She is well rounded and passionate about community involvement which we value at GraceKennedy.”
The internship program was launched 18 years ago to help students in the Diaspora enhance their professional skills while reconnecting with their heritage.
“The students will get the opportunity to work at a GraceKennedy business unit linked to their areas of interest and career goals, granting them hands-on experience with one of the Caribbean’s largest companies,” Williams pointed out. “The aim of the program is to anchor their roots in Jamaica through the different experiences, including courtesy calls with dignitaries and trips across the island to immerse them in different aspects of our culture.”
Some of the places of interest they will visit are Charles Town Maroon Village in Portland, the National Gallery of Jamaica in Kingston, Rose Hall Great House in Montego Bay and Jamwest Motorsports & Adventure Park in Negril.
They will be the first cohort to visit Negril in western Jamaica.
“GraceKennedy hopes to empower these young people to think differently about their heritage and become ambassadors for Jamaica when they return to their respective countries,” added Williams.
GKF has collaborated with The Ocean Cleanup and Clean Harbours Jamaica Ltd. on a pilot project to prevent waste from entering Kingston Harbour.
Debris is transported to an offloading site for sorting and disposal.
The students will visit the offloading site and some of the 11 gullies that feed into the Harbour.
In addition to Buck, the other participants are Harvard University fourth-year student Chardonnae Deslandes, Jada Allison who attends Wellesley College and Cambridge University graduate Olivia Hylton-Pennant.
Doug Orane, then GraceKennedy’s Chief Executive Officer, conceived the idea for the program while helping a family member, who was attending an American university at the time, fulfill his dream of scaling Jamaica’s famous Blue Mountain.
One of the largest Caribbean conglomerates, GraceKennedy is celebrating its centenary this year.
Dr. John Grace and William Kennedy launched the company on February 14, 1922 as a mercantile, shipping and insurance business.
“With this being our 100th anniversary, we hope it will be extra special for the students involved in this year’s birthright program,” said GKF Executive Director Caroline Mahfood. “The story of our company is so closely intertwined with the story of Jamaicans living here and abroad and we look forward to exploring it with this year’s participants and helping them discover Jamaica.”
GKF was launched 40 years ago to mark the company’s 60th anniversary.
