On her 16th birthday, Donnalee Donaldson was serenaded by the staff at the American Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica. Having earned a full scholarship to a top university, the woman who was processing her visa paperwork demanded that everyone clap for this bright young girl who was leaving her mother to go off to the land of opportunity while still a teenager. Four years later, Donna was in law school at Emory University, the youngest of her classmates. In this episode, she talks about her decision to leave a burgeoning law career in New York City to return to Jamaica. She was only in Jamaica for two months before she decided to relocate to Kigali, Rwanda with a job in education reform. Though not what her family and friends imagined for the “girl from Montego Bay who made good,” Donnalee shares that living in and traveling around Africa has made her appreciate the excellence of the black diaspora. She has also gained an appreciation for the privileges she enjoys as a single, professional woman with disposable income: advancement in a field that is challenging and rewarding, learning how to navigate the pitfalls that occur when you are a young professional and have advanced farther than some senior members of your team and of course, the ability to travel across the African continent and connect with other young black professionals. Always humble, Donnalee does not understand why others are impressed with her life. She maintains that she just did what girls from poor neighborhoods in Jamaica do: worked hard in school so she could get a scholarship to a good college outside of Jamaica and become a lawyer or doctor. She laughs as she remembers the concern all of Montego Bay expressed when she first announced she was leaving America to come back to Jamaica and then followed that questionable decision with leaving Jamaica to go to Africa. “I have freed myself from the belief that is prevalent in many developing countries,” Donna says. “The belief that there is only one path one must take, only one way to make your mama proud: go to a western country and become a lawyer, teacher or doctor. Remain a lawyer, teacher or doctor for thirty years.” Donna now realizes the only path worth pursuing is the one that makes you feel happy and at peace.
