Sweet success
After selling ‘jello’ sweets to help pay his way through St Jago High School, Akeem McKoy spent much of college life in the United States living with embarrassment.
He was often barred from classes because of overdue tuition fees and the struggle to pay rent meant a nagging fear of being evicted. Today, the 26-year-old electrical engineer owns a house in Ohio and is well on his way to a stellar career.
Employed to a Fortune 100 multinational, McKoy, who was head boy at St Jago High, designs multimillion-dollar distribution systems and manages a team of engineers from Mexico and the USA.
The St Catherine native’s struggle was shared by many who helped along the way, but his parents set the tone. In their family, failure was simply not an option.
His mother, Delores McKoy, who taught at his high school, was the one who began selling jello and other snacks to students. She knew it was against the rules but she was determined to make sure her children could go to school and have enough to eat.
“My mom would take the taxi to school and students would tease her because of the number of bags she had to carry to sell. They called her names, laughed at and ridiculed her. My mom would leave the house, go to school, teach, and sell. She even did extra lessons at various institutions, at varying levels, because she wasn’t earning enough money. This was heart-breaking, especially going to the same school that your mother teaches at, only to hear rumours about her for trying to provide for her family,” McKoy told the Jamaica Observer.
His father, Donovan McKoy, had already migrated to the USA, working to support his family as he tried to get them to join him.
Seeing his mother struggle, McKoy saved his lunch money and invested it in the jello selling business. He even got a friend to join him in his entrepreneurial venture. His brothers, Shemar and Hanesley, came on board after they sat the Caribbean Examinations Council exam and were placed at Jamaica College (JC).
Their parents did their best to pay the fees for all three boys, while friends and relatives helped along the way. Eventually, one of his brothers got a scholarship from the JC Old Boys’ Association.
But life was never ever easy.
Despite the struggles, McKoy attained eight Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate subjects, and then continued at the sixth-form level where he obtained eight Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination units and an associate degree in computer science.
He then set about trying to fulfil his dream of being an engineer by applying to a local school but was told he simply wasn’t good enough.
“The summer of 2015 [stayed] with me for life. I was made aware of my failure to be admitted. My mom called the institution on my behalf. I also called non-stop. I was told, ‘I already told your mom not to waste her money; you can’t handle this programme’,” he recalled.
He allowed himself to cry, but then, with his father’s encouragement he picked up the pieces of his shattered dream and applied to study electrical engineering at University of South Florida.
“I was accepted but I had no idea where the first dollar would come from. I made all the preparations to leave. To my surprise, my mom had a college fund that she was contributing to. I later found out that part of the proceeds of selling [jello] went there. I started my first semester and moved in with my dad in a two-bedroom apartment that he had rented with a room-mate. When I moved in, he slept in a broken bed with sheets as a barrier in the living room taped to the ceiling for his privacy. With contributions from multiple stakeholders… my first year went okay,” McKoy explained.
The family’s financial burden became heavier after his brother Shemar got accepted to college and joined them in the apartment. Their father rose to the occasion, working 12 hours per day every day of the week. His brother created a GoFundMe account to ease the burden. He got enough help to pay his tuition fee so McKoy went the same route. The funds raised didn’t cover his full tuition but it helped.
“I received GoFundMe contributions from past students at St Jago, strangers from all walks of society, and from family members. [But] this was just the start of one of the most difficult periods I encountered, while pursuing the first couple years of my studies,” he told the Observer.
“I was kicked out of class on multiple occasions in multiple semesters and had to petition to be reinstated due to financial struggles. Though my father tried, we received notice of eviction. This was a terrifying issue. Being evicted, out of class for financial reasons, and [having] a limited time frame to pay my tuition and apply for reinstatement took a toll on us,” he disclosed.
“Imagine going home knowing you have been served notice to vacate the premises or show up in court. Again, no fault of my parents, but just the reality of my circumstances. [We struggled with] uncertainty as to whether our stuff would be put out, [so] we packed some essential stuff to prepare for this. Where would we go? I had no idea. My dad would rather be paying a part of our tuition than the rent. That’s an invaluable sacrifice. I love and appreciate him for that,” he added.
The family did everything they could to make ends meet, including working out a gruelling schedule that would maximise the resources they had.
“Because my dad had one car, I had to wake up with him every morning at 5:00 am, carry him to work and go to school. He waited hours sometimes outside in the dark, in the cold, just so I could end class to come for him. We had to watch how much gas we were using, as that, too, became an issue. And ignoring pride, I vividly remember my dad asking his friend to help with gas money so I could go to school,” said McKoy.
He took a home-cooked lunch to school every day. Spending money on social activities was just not done.
In 2020, by then a US resident, McKoy was finally able to get financial aid and that lessened the burden of his school fees. In 2021 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical and electronics engineering.
In his final semester, he was offered a full-time job as a level-one electrical engineer at Honeywell International Inc. By his second year on the job he was promoted to the position of second lead engineer. Today he is electrical engineering project lead.
“I was privileged enough to be given the opportunity to be the second lead on the largest and most technologically-equipped Amazon distribution centre in the US. It was a multimillion dollar project; the highlight of my professional life so far. It is my intention to seek a promotion to electrical engineer two this year as well, which I have qualified for,” he said with great delight.
Forever grateful to all who have helped him and his family along the way, he hopes others will be inspired by his story.
“I don’t glorify struggles, but I share it with the hope that someone facing similar situations can understand that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that they, too, can do it,” he told the Observer.
“There is good in the world. Apply yourself, ignore your pride, though it might be hard, and ask for help when needed. Also, never give up in life, as with life there is always hope. Be as realistic as you can be with yourself. Work smart and believe. Believe that you can do it, that you can reach the stars, that it is achievable; and surround yourself with people who have good intentions for you,” said McKoy.