Kenrick — A Conversation with Kenrick Mark Coleman Features Jacinta Gomez
The Kenrick Mark Coleman Foundation
Kenrick — A Conversation with Kenrick Mark Coleman Features Jacinta Gomez
1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a proud Belizean youth. At 24 years old, I’ve mastered the art of enjoying and appreciating the simple things in life — a morning sunrise, a home cooked meal, time spent laughing with loved ones, and any opportunity to experience the beauty of our jewel. These are the things that make me the happiest. One thing I love more than experiencing the natural beauty of Belize is getting to share those experiences with others who may not have been so lucky and promoting good stewardship of these resources. I am a Belizean ambassador — not in the diplomatic sense, but that I utilize every opportunity available to share what my country has to offer with anyone who isn’t aware and is willing to listen. I was fortunate enough to have grown up taking trips to the cayes with my family and immersing myself in our precious marine resources. I believe that is where this love-affair with my country began.
I was born and raised in Belize City by two loving parents who gave me one of the greatest gifts — the opportunity to be a big sister. My brother and I did not grow up wealthy, but my parents worked extremely hard to provide us with everything we needed, and more. Recognizing their sacrifice to provide for us taught me value and consideration at an early age. My parents instilled in me the importance of getting an education. My mom always told me that a good education is something that no one can take away from you. This was a lesson I took seriously, and I made sure to excel at school. If I could attribute these academic successes to one personal quality, it would be discipline. Motivation to excel comes and goes, but discipline is long lasting. It is truly one of the most integral qualities for success in whatever aspect of life. These qualities have certainly carried through to my adulthood, and I’m forever grateful to my parents for instilling them in me.
In my spare time, I enjoy travelling to new places, whether in Belize or abroad. Through travelling, I’ve learned much about the world, but even more about myself. I am an adventurous eater and love experiencing new cultures through their cuisine. I also enjoy testing my discipline by practicing healthy eating habits and working out on weekdays. Weekends are for indulgence!
I’ve always tried to maintain a positive outlook on life, despite the circumstances, and I’d have to say that’s one quality I’m most proud of.
2. You graduated with a Master’s Degree from the KDI School of Public Policy and Management, majoring in Development Policy. What do you believe is important in this your role?
Ever since I voted for the first time on March 7th, 2012, I’ve felt a sense of civic pride that went beyond my pride for Belize and its natural beauty. It was something I felt was very uncommon among my peers, as I was one of few out of my friends to have voted. As a student of development wanting to contribute to the future of Belize, I believe one of my greatest roles is encouraging civic pride in Belizean youth. For many that I’ve interacted with, there’s a sense of indifference and cynicism when it comes to exercising our civic duty to vote. This has a lot to do with the corruption in society, and the bribery that plagues elections, and I can understand why there’s a sense of passiveness. But not voting is not the answer. As youths, it is our job to act now so as to slowly steer the way to a more transparent and accountable society. We must change the conversation — from partisan politics — to the underlying issues plaguing our nation. There’s far too much focus being put on party politics that it is almost blinding. As youth, we need to look beyond this and inspire our leaders to get back to basics — making positive impact and change for society. We need to hold our leaders accountable. We can do this by using our voice, and in turn, our vote to begin to stimulate change. It’s important to put the onus on ourselves as the voters, by realizing that we must require our leaders to act with integrity, and tolerate nothing less. I’m confident that my generation can be the one to bring about this political reform that is so necessary for the development of our country.
I also believe my role as a student of development involves promoting the sustainable use and development of Belize’s natural resources so that we can continue to enjoy their benefits for generations to come. Through my work at Oceana, I’ve been able to work closely with students across the country teaching them how they can be good stewards of our natural resources and why it’s integral for our development. It’s amazing to see that light go off in their heads as they realize the change they can make in their communities. I believe that by instilling pride in the youth for our country and its resources, that pride can also be translated into civic pride and responsibility as they grow older.
3. Tell us more about your academic life at this University? How did you receive the scholarship? Why did you choose this particular University? When did you commence studies? What subject areas are focused on? What’s your relationship like with fellow students?
I began looking into scholarships for Master degree programs immediately after returning home with my Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of South Florida. I learned about the KDI School of Public Policy and Management through the scholarship opportunities sent out by Belize’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. KDI School is an affiliate to the Korean Development Institute (KDI), the #1 ranked think tank in Asia¬. I was very excited to apply for the Global Ambassador Scholarship, which is offered to Belizeans every year through the school. After submitting my application in late October 2014, it wasn’t until early January 2015 that I got notice of acceptance. It was a no-brainer for me, even though it meant I had only a few weeks before having to pack up and travel overseas to start a new life in a foreign country. I’m forever grateful that KDIS chose me. I began as a Spring 2015 student in February 2015 majoring in Development Policy (MDP).
I was part of the first cohort of students attending KDIS at their new Sejong Campus. Over the winter just before my arrival, the school transitioned its campus from the bustling city of Seoul where it had been stationed since its inception in 1997, to the new administrative capital of South Korea, Sejong City. I’m not sure if it was because it was a time of transition for the school, but the school’s administration went out of their way to make new students feel welcomed and taken care of. Quite a stark contrast from having studied at a large university in the U.S. where you are simply a number.
I was immediately impressed by the diversity among the students. About 50% of the student body was comprised of international students from more than 80 countries around the world creating a unique multi-cultural environment — something I’d say is one of the greatest benefits of studying at KDIS. Majority of the student body at KDIS was comprised of mid-career professionals from government agencies around the developing world, and at 20 years of age, I was the youngest student at the school. That just meant that I had a lot to learn, and a lot of people to learn from. I immediately connected with my peers from Latin America and the Caribbean, and they became my family throughout my time in South Korea. We keep in touch and I’ve even visited a few of them since leaving Korea.
KDIS Sejong campus was quite secluded from the remainder of the city, and so it really forced the student body to connect and spend time together. Most of the international students lived on campus in the dorms, and given that it was only about 170 of us, we all knew each other by name (and sometimes by country if that failed). I was lucky to have an awesome roommate from Bolivia who served as a great companion throughout my time there and even taught me a bit of Spanish.
One of my favorite traditions at KDIS was certainly the Happy Hour gatherings organized by the school. No, not just because they served free beer and food (smiles). These gatherings provided for great networking opportunities among Korean students and internationals, as well as professors who often frequented these events. It’s always nice to unwind after a long week of hammering the books, and KDIS certainly appreciated the benefits of this to overall productivity.
When I wasn’t socializing at Happy Hour, you could more than likely find me in the state of the art school library. Being that we were the first group to attend the Sejong Campus, we were privileged to be the first to use all the school and dorm facilities. I spent a lot of my time in the library reading or in the computer lab researching. I found that even though I had my own personal laptop, I preferred working in the library around my fellow classmates and peers. The camaraderie among the KDIS students is unlike any other I’ve experienced.
After my first semester at KDIS in which I took all my core and mandatory classes to satisfy my major, I was able to choose my elective classes moving forward. I chose to concentrate my studies in International Development and Public Administration, taking classes such as NGO’s and Development, Foreign Policy Analysis, and Theory and Policy of International Trade to name a few. Though the coursework was challenging, the experience and level of contribution to development that the professors possessed made me want to push myself to excel. Knowing that my professors came from the world’s best institutions fueled me to perform my best, and I was able to make the Dean’s list for the four semesters there.
KDIS offered many opportunities to learn not only inside the classroom, but also outside. Students had the opportunity to join one of the Regional Forums representing Africa, Latin America & Caribbean, Central Asia, Europe & East Asia, Northeast Asian, ASEAN and Aid Policy Forum. These forums organized events year-round, including guest lectures, themed parties, movie festivals and more. Overall, the school provided an atmosphere that made it easy to create life-long bonds and friendships between all students.
4. Describe your transformation process from little Belize to Korea?.
Wow! [this was] my initial reaction walking into the terminal at Incheon Airport after a 14 hour flight from San Francisco. It felt like stepping into the future. After travelling through that airport a couple more times over the course of a year, I could definitely see why it has been named the world’s best airport for 12 consecutive years. The rest of the country didn’t disappoint either.
Living in Sejong City made the transition from Belize quite easy. At that time, Sejong City was basically brand new — that meant a lot of construction, seeing people you know every time you go out, and well, just not that much to do in general — sound familiar? For someone coming from a big city and used to the hustle and bustle which that entails (like many of my fellow peers) it was quite a hard adjustment. But for little old me from Belize — I felt quite at home. Looking back, the fact I got to experience the Sejong campus and city at it’s early stages were the biggest blessings of my time there for two reasons:
1) As mentioned above, it forced all KDIS students to really get to know each other and about each other’s countries. (Hey, when you’re doing presentations on your country for fun, you know the struggle is real.) But I learnt so much from those conversations and interactions.
2) It forced me to want to travel outside of Sejong and get to know the rest of the country. It’s really easy to get comfortable in daily routines, especially with the work load that a Masters entails. But living in Sejong forced me to want to get out from time to time to see what the rest of South Korea was like. I fell in love with Seoul and would literally take the 2 hour bus ride there whenever my work load permitted.
It became immediately obvious that South Korea is still a very homogeneous society. The couple times I’d run into foreigners in Seoul were quite amusing. They would stare at me just as intrigued as I would stare at them probably thinking the same: “I wonder what she’s doing here?”
Whenever in Seoul, one thing that continued to amaze me was the sheer amount of people that consumed the city. Coming from Belize where it’s quite normal to be the only person walking down any given street, it was amazing to me that this was never the case in Seoul. It was invigorating to walk down the streets of Myeong-dong or Gangnam and feel so small yet so alive.
Outside of Sejong and Seoul, I also got to experience Daejeon, Busan, Boryeong, Ulsan, Pohang, Gyeongju, Nami Island, and the DMZ, one of my favorite experiences there. Most of these trips were organized by the school, highlighting their efforts to provide a true immersion into Korean culture and life. For any adventurous eater, beauty/skin care fanatic, or anyone who enjoys a rigorous hike with amazing views, South Korea is a must on the bucket list!
5. What are the challenges you faced as a student at university? Opportunities? How was life as a student?
Outside of the obvious language barrier outside the school (all classes are taught in English), one of the challenges I faced as a student at KDIS was building the confidence to participate in class discussions. Being the youngest student, and having little to no ‘hands on’ experience in the work force was quite intimidating, especially since I was surrounded by many mid-career professionals from government agencies who had already contributed to their country’s development. However, I saw this as a huge opportunity to learn from them. Safe to say, I asked a ton of questions!
Life as a student? Ha…I miss it! I’ve always maintained that student life is the best life — and KDIS made it so easy for that to be true. I still have yet to find a moment that compares to the feeling you get when you walk out of that last exam, or hand in that final paper. Pure bliss!
Outside of getting back into school mode which usually takes a couple weeks, I was able to do a pretty good job of balancing school work with extracurricular activities. I also worked in the school’s writing center and snagged an English tutoring job outside of school. In Korea, it pays to come from an English speaking country! Since the Global Ambassador Scholarship provided for only 1 short year of coursework, the breaks we got in between were few. But I did manage to make the most of them, and my stipend savings, by travelling to Japan in the Spring Break, and to Thailand during the Summer Break. I was also able to squeeze in a weekend trip to Hong Kong with my best friend, Kristin, which will forever go down as one of the best/most memorable experiences of my life.
I learned a lot inside the classroom, but I learned just as much outside through my travels. I’d encourage any Belizean looking to pursue a Masters in Development or Public Policy to apply for the KDI Global Ambassador Scholarship offered to Belizeans every year by the KDI School. I know of four other Belizeans who have successfully completed the program and are back in Belize. I’m always open and willing to answer any questions you may have about the application process or life at KDIS.
6. Why is your major important to Belize’s National Development?
Development Policy is broad, and as a developing country, covers much of the scope of the laws and policies we have in place and are working to improve in Belize. This broad understanding of development is relevant especially today since countries around the world are working towards the Sustainable Development Goals — a very ambitious but important list of targets to accomplish by 2030. It is extremely important for our national agenda to reflect the goals set out in the SDG’s, and this takes collaboration on every front. Studying Development Policy has highlighted numerous country examples of how best this collaboration can take place. For Belize, this will be essential in the coming years if we are to begin to hit the targets outlined in the SDG’s.
7. Since your return to Belize, what are some of the major projects you were/are involved with? How did you infuse the knowledge and skills garnered? What impact have these projects made? What can Belize expect from Jacinta Gomez in, let’s say, the next 5 years?
For the past two years, I’ve been fortunate enough to be working with Oceana and fighting for legislation that safeguards Belize’s economically important marine resources. In Belize, as in many other countries, conservation issues are at their core, development issues. This is the message my team takes to the thousands of Belizeans we meet through our grassroots program. It’s not about being “tree-huggers” or “locking up resources”, but safeguarding what we’ve been blessed with so that Belizeans can continue to benefit from them for generations to come. Oceana has afforded me the opportunity of telling the story of why Belizeans should care about safeguarding our marine resources. Making the connection between the environment and the economy is fundamental in telling this story. But equally important is couching these environmental issues as the development issues they are. Creating public ownership and buy-in is integral for environmental policies and legislation to work. And for this to happen, there needs to be a certain degree of transparency and public participation.
As you may be aware, one of Oceana’s main campaigns for the past seven years has been against offshore oil drilling in Belize. As a result of the continued grassroots engagement and unwavering support from the Belizean public, on December 30th 2017, the Government of Belize legislated a moratorium on all offshore oil exploration and drilling in Belizean waters, a move which garnered unprecedented unanimous support in the Senate and bi-partisan support in the House of Representatives. This was welcomed as a huge step forward for Belize and positions the country as a regional and world leader in terms of putting in place sustainable laws to protect our world-renowned marine resources. More importantly, it highlights the importance of grassroots democracy and serves as the perfect example of how legislation should be informed — from the people, to the parliamentarians.#ThePeoplesLaw
Oceana has also afforded me the opportunity to work along with other NGO’s on the Fish Right, Eat Right certification program. The goal of this certification program is to curb illegal fishing and promote best practices in fisheries by providing marketing incentives throughout the supply chain via the promotion of responsible seafood consumption. As consumers of seafood, it’s important for us to question the source of our seafood — where, how, and by who it was caught. Having restaurants certified under the FRER program will assist consumers in making informed and sustainable choices the next time they are trying to decide where to eat. Look out for the Fish Right Eat Right app coming soon!
Serving as the point of contact for the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage gave me the opportunity to be involved in a journalism course in 2016 entitled “Safeguarding the future: The environmental and economic connection in Belize”. The course aimed to provide practicing journalists with context and insights into how responsible stewardship of the nation’s environment can support sustainable, long-term economic development. It included class and field work focused on topics and issues at the heart of Belize’s environmental and economic crossroads. I learnt so much from our lecturer, Ms. Holly Edgell, as well as practicing Belizean journalists during this experience. It opened my eyes to the fact that our Belizean journalists face many challenges in their quests to bring us stories that 1) they care about and 2) can inspire action/change. This experience, along with other incidences of violence against journalists that were happening around the same time, made me realize the need for an association of journalists in Belize to protect and promote the rights of journalists, and help to facilitate a more conducive environment for freedom of press, a necessity for any democracy.
In the next five years, I just may decide to pursue another master’s -this time in environmental studies — and of course, return to Belize to continue the work towards promoting the sustainable use of our natural resources.
8. In one of my recent articles, I stated: ‘It is important to realize that majority of Belize’s younger populations continue to be very mediocre as it relates to becoming holistically educated and cultured, personally and professionally.’ What’s your perspective on this?
For me, being holistically educated and cultured doesn’t necessarily have to happen inside a classroom. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve found that through travelling and experiencing new environments and cultures for the first time I’ve learned so much about the world, and about myself — more so than inside a classroom. I believe this could be true for many of our Belizean youth as well. Many are not privileged to know the beauty of our country. Taking kids out to experience the barrier reef for the first time, for example, could open up a whole new world for them. In order to motivate youth to strive for better for themselves, they need to have pride in what they would be working to give back to. If all they see is the toxic environments that surround them, it’s hard to expect that they would be motivated to further their studies.
Now looking at education from the institution perspective — I recently attended the first ever “Tertiary Options and Opportunities Education Expo” hosted by the Ministry of Education and my initial thought was — why is this the first event of its kind? There are many opportunities for young Belizeans to further their education, and events like this can make these opportunities more accessible to those who are in a position to take advantage of them. The problem is that not all youth are in a position to take advantage of the educational opportunities that exist — their circumstances simply do not allow it. It’s a vicious cycle that most developing countries face. Addressing this involves tackling many other social issues — most of which boil down to poverty. However, I know of great examples of friends and colleagues who did not let those circumstances stop them from pursuing higher education. What made their situations different? Well, being inspired by someone else with those same circumstances getting themselves out through education. I believe that sharing these experiences, as you are doing here on your platform, can truly inspire young kids to strive for better. The message needs to be brought to them where they are — in their classrooms, in their homes, on the courts, on the streets. Creating a space for these stories to be shared could make a difference. Having an educated youth population is one of the most powerful tools of any democracy — and achieving this should be our business.
9. Why should Belizeans apply for the Korea Scholarships? Tell us more about this programme? Contact? Would you be able to provide support?
Getting the opportunity to study in South Korea, a country whose rapid and vast economic development is referred to as “the miracle on the Han River”, alongside classmates working in government agencies all over the developing world was the experience of a lifetime. There are many lessons to learn from South Korea’s transformation, especially since it is obvious that everything was strategically planned out. This scholarship not only focuses on academics, but creates numerous opportunities to learn a new culture and way of life. The school organizes multiple trips throughout the year for international students to get to experience the Korean way of life. One great example is the Korean Field Research and Study (KFRS) program carried out during the Summer break. Visiting industrial manufacturing sites such as POSCO, SK Energy, and Samsung, we got to see what laid the foundations of the current Korean economy. We also got the chance to visit historical sites such as temples which are rich with cultural heritage. If you can tell by now, I feel so lucky to have had this opportunity, and I’d encourage any Belizean interested in Development studies or Public Policy to apply for this scholarship and learn from the lessons of a country who’s been where we are, and has transformed to one of the most developed countries in the world. I’d be more than happy to provide support to anyone interested. You can learn much more about the scholarship and how to apply at this site: https://www.kdischool.ac.kr/#/admissions/cp/international/scholarship
10. What three words do you have to say to young Belizeans
Believe you can.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”- Margaret Mead
