DECEMBER'S GIRL ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello everyone,

                I am happy, honoured, and frankly excited to introduce our first girl on fire!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone meet my friend Melicia Grant. There is a wonderful piece of literature that Melicia wrote about herself,it left me speechless. I chose Melicia as the first girl on fire  because I know Melicia's background. I know that Melicia has gone through dealing with life's many obstacles and honestly, I have never met a more, dedicated and persistent individual. I honestly have no words for how much I heart her!!! She is amazingly gifted, loving and talented. She is a great friend, daughter and a wonderful human being. Melicia is one of those good souls as I like to say, a genuine heart. I hope Melicia provides the wonderful source of inspiration for you as she is for me.

In her own words,

Melicia, is destined for greatness and poised for success. Her mother noted that when she was less than one month old, her father lifted her to the heavens and said “she’ll make us proud”. That was to be manifested when she was always topping her classes from early childhood through to tertiary studies. She is a past student of the Curln Johnson Basic School and the Windward Road All Age school now known as the Windward Road Primary and Junior High school. In 1998, she started secondary studies at a top all-girls in Jamaica located at 26 South Camp Road, known popularly as the Alpha Academy. She was to make her mark and indeed she did having been awarded for her academic prowess. She graduated with nine (9) CSEC subjects in 2003. She went to sixth form where she successfully completed 2 CAPE and 2 A’Level subjects. She was an all-rounder, an active leader and member in various clubs. In 2004, her leadership abilities were not only obvious to her teachers but among her peers where she received landslide victory to become the Student Council President for the academic year 2004-2005.  

She left Alpha Academy to pursue studies in a field she had unquenchable thirst of knowledge for. In 2008, she completed her bachelor’s in Computer Science and Philosophy with honours at the University of the West Indies, Mona. With the personality of always standing out and knowing that the area she is in is highly competitive, she opted to purse postgraduate studies. In 2012, Melicia completed her Masters degree in Computer-Based management Information systems with distinction. She is strategically putting things in place as she hopes to pursue her PhD in Information Systems in the near future.

Melicia is a go-getter she prides herself on being a well-rounded individual who strongly emphasizes teamwork and one who is results oriented. Having been raised as the younger sister of two in a matriarchal single-parent household, Melicia became cognisant of the true worth of a family from an early age. She admires her mother and dedicates one of her favourite poem written by Lorna Goodison to her; For My Mother (May I Inherit Half Her Strength).

Melicia currently works as a Programmer/Analyst at a top Insurance company. Moreover, she has two (2) years experience in teaching Information Technology and Computer Science at her alma mater. Melicia hopes to become a Professor in Information Systems and a renowned philanthropist. She wants to start a Muriel Brown Trust Fund to help young girls from single parent households to complete any academic pursuit they engage in. As a woman of God, she continuously testifies that if it had not been for the Lord on her side she knows she would not have achieved what she has. She always seeks to encourage young girls to aim for whatever they want to and as long as Jesus Christ is first in their lives, everything else will fall into place. Her favourite scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 4:7 (KJV) -But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.