April 29, 2008
By the nature of what we do we see young people often on the up trajectory of their careers and aspirations. So we are accustomed to our brightest heading somewhere in the universe that will also nurture them. We are happy to have caught some of their genius and always wish them well.
So too we must with writer Nicole Smythe-Johnson, who brought her own style and energy to Panmedia although we didn’t have her company long. We share her joy in her acceptance to the London School of Economics for the 2008/2009 academic year. Nicole will do a one year Masters of Science in Race, Ethnicity and Post-colonial Studies. The program is based in the Sociology Department but that's inter-disciplinary, touching on history, cultural studies, political and social theory.
"The head of the program, Paul Gilroy, is a sort of celebrity in my field and I really like his work," says Nicole. "So it's been my dream program since sophomore year."
She plans to go directly into a PhD program in a related field after and then return and teach at UWI. Nicole graduated last year with a Bachelors in Humanities, Media and Cultural Studies from Macalester College in Minnesota. She worked there briefly at the Walker Art Centre before returning to Jamaica last December. She joined Panmedia in January.
"I'm very excited about the opportunity to live in Europe and see the 'Heart of the Empire' that I spent so many years in undergrad studying," says Nicole.