Powered by perseverance - Nursing student who completed assignments on a mobile phone receives laptop

For more than two years, Northern Caribbean University (NCU) nursing student Anastacia Williams used an Android phone to complete university assignments, prepare PowerPoint presentations, work on Excel documents and type lengthy academic papers.

When the phone began falling apart, she held the screen together with an elastic band and kept working.

On Thursday, that struggle took a different turn when Williams walked across the stage at NCU’s Gymnatorium to receive an HP laptop through a partnership involving AdventHealth, Andrews Memorial Hospital Limited and Northern Caribbean University.

“Thanks to AdventHealth and Andrews Memorial Hospital for this laptop. This journey has been nothing short of life-changing,” Williams said. “It has been a struggle, but I’m also very grateful for my support system, my mother and my sisters, who have never left me. Even though we’re not as fortunate as others, they have been with me constantly.”

Williams said she received her first laptop while in high school, but the hard drive crashed during her first year at university. With her family unable to replace it immediately, she decided to make do with what she had.

“Mommy really didn’t have it at the time, and I didn’t really want to pressure her because I’m not the only child,” she recalled. “I said to myself, ‘Mommy doesn’t have it, but I can find a way.’ And if I can do it on the phone, I can get it done. I downloaded the apps on my phone, and I just found a way to make it work.”

That phone became her classroom device.

“I was using my phone to do all my assignments, all typing, all Excel, PowerPoints. I can do anything on that phone,” she said.

Not to be derailed

Even when the phone deteriorated, Williams refused to allow the setback to derail her nursing studies.

“That’s something I really love about nursing. It teaches you how to be resilient,” she said. “You have to just make something out of nothing, and I refuse to fail. So even if it’s the phone, pencil, I’m going to find a solution and work through it.”

Williams was among seven final-year nursing students symbolically presented with laptops during the ceremony. In total, 100 laptops are to be distributed to final-year nursing students at NCU.

The presentation represents the fourth laptop handover to NCU nursing students under the continuing initiative.

Dr Audrey Gregory, senior executive vice-president and CEO of AdventHealth’s Multi-Division Delivery Network, said the donation was about more than supplying technology.

Gregory, who has Jamaican roots, described the presentation as particularly meaningful because of her own connection to the island.

“I am proud of the fact that this island has shaped who I was becoming way before I wore an AdventHealth badge,” she said. “When I stand here today, it is as the daughter of this soil, and I am very excited about the fact that the organisation in which I now work is investing in the island that has shaped me.”

Gregory said AdventHealth’s relationship with Andrews Memorial Hospital and NCU had developed beyond institutional transactions.

“This partnership is more than about transactions; it’s really about relationships,” she said. “Andrews Memorial Hospital and Northern Caribbean University feel to me like family. We also talk about partnerships in terms of equipment, and yes, we do need beds, technology and medical resources, and those matter. They save lives. But I think the truest measure of a partnership isn’t what changes hands, but what changes in people.”

‘Act of belief’

She described the laptops as “an act of belief” in the students and their future.

“These computers are not just devices. They’re actually an act of belief. They’re saying that we see your potential, we trust where you’re headed, and we want to remove just a few of the obstacles that stand between you and the future you’re working towards,” Gregory said.

“Every student who receives one of these computers this year is holding just a small piece of a much bigger promise. It is a promise that AdventHealth is not just here to give and go, but to really walk alongside your community for the long haul, all the way through to graduation and beyond.”

She urged the students to use the devices as reminders that others were invested in their success.

“Let this device be more than just a tool. Let it be a reminder that you were chosen, you were invested in, and that you were believed in by people who may never meet you personally, but who are cheering for you all the same,” Gregory said.

Donmayne Gyles, president and CEO of Andrews Memorial Hospital Limited, said the initiative would ultimately contribute to better patient care.

“This handing-over ceremony is more than just education. It’s more than just technology. It’s more than just giving computers; it is impacting professional development and, ultimately, in my sphere, impacting better patient care,” Gyles said.

He encouraged the students to use the laptops responsibly while maintaining the compassion that defines nursing.

“Use them well. Pursue excellence. Remain compassionate. Embrace innovation, but never allow technology to replace the human touch that lies at the heart of nursing,” he said.

“Healthcare will continue to change, but Jamaica will always need nurses, nurses that are competent, compassionate, ethical, spiritual, well-grounded and committed to service.”

NCU President Dr Balvin Braham also challenged the students to use the laptops to complete the academic journey they had started.

“These computers that are being presented to you today are intended to help you achieve the success for which you came to Northern Caribbean University,” Braham said.

“I ask you, give this your best shot. Continue to allow Northern Caribbean University to be the best in training and preparing nurses for Jamaica, the region and the globe.”

Confidence in potential

Speaking on behalf of the senior nursing class, Andre Nesbeth said the laptops represented confidence in the students’ potential.

“These devices don’t simply represent mere technological gadgets or tools. They represent a belief, a belief that has been fostered by this partnership between AdventHealth and Andrews Memorial Hospital, and even our own university, Northern Caribbean University,” he said.

Student Sonia Robinson expressed similar gratitude after facing financial and technological challenges of her own.

“I’m excited. I am feeling very good, given that someone believes in me, and it’s a motivation to continue to do great,” Robinson said.

“I had financial issues, laptop issues, device issues, but I still aimed to do well. I used my phone to do assignments and turn them in on time. After years of completing assignments on my phone, this laptop represents one less barrier between me and my nursing career that I refuse to abandon.”