Just this past Wednesday Dr. Camir Ricketts graduated from the Weill Cornell School of Medicine with a PhD in Computational Biology. It was a bittersweet occasion, on the one hand after almost 26 years of continuous formal education he is finally done, having successfully attained his goal. But, on the other hand neither his parents, teachers nor friends was there in person to see him walk across the stage. In fact there wasn't even a stage.

Despite the gloomy circumstances the outpouring of love for him, excitement for his accomplishment and support for his future was still palpable even over the internet. Sure, this monumental achievement was all his doing but no doubt Camir's success is very much a community effort. It takes a village and for Camir his was an expansive community that included parents, teachers, friends and even on occasion strangers all of whom from a young age encouraged his curiosity and nurtured his ambitions. In many ways his success is also theirs and in other ways it's ours.

Dr. Ricketts is a product of this Jamaican village and we all should celebrate him and be proud, but we should also be sad that not every Jamaican child had or have that foundation. Happily, Camir through his Minds Of Foundation is working to change that, providing opportunities to young people who may not have a community but will have his support.

For more information about The Minds Of Initiative, visit https://themindsof.com/