Rock bottom became the solid foundation in which I rebuilt my life.”
― J.K. Rowling My name is Randell Deveaux and I am a resilient single mother determined to change the trajectory of my life through education. I am grateful and humbled to be considered by donors for this scholarship as I know that many are not able to receive this opportunity. I always knew that the odds were against me growing up but always strived to change that. My dream future is one that can create generational abundance for my lineage. I want to work hard and establish a solid career path in accountancy. I would also like to aid single mothers and women that are the products of single mother households with the knowledge of financial literacy and offer scholarships to desiring individuals. Ultimately, my goal is to always give back and that has been molded in me by my membership with the Rotaract Club of Providenciales where our motto is “Service above self.” Growing up, I was an only child in a single-parent household. My family migrated from Turks and Caicos Islands to the Bahamas in the 1960's and even though my mother obtained permanent residency, there were still many factors that contributed to her not being allowed the same privileges as the average citizen. This trickled down to my life. By law, I had to take on her citizenship which was from a different country than I was born. I was not privileged to be chosen for Government scholarships and was limited in resources to better my education. For college, I worked full-time and paid out of pocket for my associate's degree, while citizens were allowed to attend free of charge once they achieved particular grades in the national exams. Though I was an A+ student in high school, I did not have governmental educational support because of my status and background. Overall, I could not take advantage of everything that was afforded to others in my age group. 2019 was the year that my life turned right side up and then upside down. Initially, life started to look up. I became a first-time mom and then suddenly, three (3) months later I lost everything in Hurricane Dorian in Abaco, Bahamas. I lost all possessions, my job, my home, my car and also became a single mom during that period. While a large number of others in my community died, I was given another chance at life. This prompted me to get back on my journey of conquering my educational goals as I rebuilt my life. I re-enrolled in the Bachelor of Accounting Long Distance Learners Program at the University of Minnesota Crookston in pursuit of conquering my career goals. I believe that the only way to cross the roadblocks I’ve faced is to obtain a solid educational foundation. That way, I can build a life and legacy that my daughter and generations after can be proud of and want to follow. I truly believe that education plays a role in one’s success and paves the way for a brighter future even after they are gone. My goal is to do things differently from my ancestors but first, start off as a first-generation degree holder. My challenges taught me resilience and helped me to build a stronger spritual bond with God in the process. I know that I have to keep pushing. “To achieve what 1% of the world's population has, you must be willing to do what only 1% dare to do...hard work and perseverance of the highest order."— Manoj Arora

My name is Randell Deveaux and I am a Bahamian citizen, living in Turks and Caicos and enrolled in the Long Distance Learning Program at the University of Minnesota Crookston. My goal is to obtain a bachelor's degree in Accounting. From as young as I can remember, I have strived to be my best in everything, to bridge the gap and fix the challenges I faced in the environment I was brought up in. I am community-minded and my extracurricular activities always involved taking part in community-based endeavours. Currently, I serve as the Treasurer of the Rotaract Club of Providenciales. Our motto is, "Service above self." This is something I strive for every day and once I obtain my degree I am excited to drive personal initiatives to help my local community in Turks and Caicos as well as in the Bahamas. My educational journey has been tedious and long. I often find myself wondering what my parents could not have done differently to assist in funding my college dreams right out of high school. I began working full-time at 17 and funded my college education at a local college in Freeport, Bahamas. I was able to complete an Associate of Arts Degree in Accounting Management and luckily was able to land a better job. After this accomplishment, l was faced with many detours, I became a mom and financially I just could not afford to pay my tuition. Today, I am motivated to continue my educational journey. As a single mother, raised by a single mother who had great financial struggles over the years, my goal is to obtain my Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and render assistance in financial advisory and budgeting to women. I would like to create a plan to help as many young women as possible and especially target young single mothers. It is my dream to assist and create a plan to aid women in obtaining a financially stable life at a young age. I was never taught financial literacy and come from a generation of women that knew nothing about financial freedom. Robert Kiyosaki once said, "More important than the how we achieve financial freedom, is the why. Find your reasons why you want to be free and wealthy." My why is that I want to create generational wealth for myself and my family. I want to assist other women within my community to do the same. On September 9th 2022, my first cousin committed suicide. She was like a sister to me and also a single mother of a 12 and 15-year-old. She left a note stating her "whys" and no. 1 was that her financial struggles as a single mother is was what drove her to take her life. She also left me a letter encouraging me to keep going and because of that, she is one of the main forces for me wanting this so bad. Another goal of mine is to create a non-profit to assist women such as myself with scholarships to conquer their educational goals. In the Bahamas, scholarships to study abroad are almost non-existent. Students have to resort to international donors for scholarships because locally, it is highly unlikely that persons or organizations would offer to fund a college education. I would like to assist in that area within my community and become a scholarship donor, especially to women like myself who are striving and eager to further their education. I want to be a part of the change and believe that my current volunteer work is a start to something greater.

My name is Randell Deveaux and I am a woman of colour, and an only child brought up in a single-parent home. From as young as I can remember, I have strived to be my best in everything, to bridge the gap created by my parents and fix the challenges I faced in the environment I was brought up in. My mother migrated to a country illegally when she was 2 years old with her mom and brothers to create a better life. Due to this, she was faced with many setbacks. Despite this, she did the best with what she had and for that I am grateful. I am now a single mother and realize that I too made some decisions that were not conducsive to the life I want for myself. Firstly, I started with accountability. I am aware that there are several things that I could have done better and sooner to create a better life for myself, my mom and my 3-year-old daughter. To form a different path for myself, I opted to relocate a little over a year ago. I was grateful to land a job that made it possible for me to fund my life despite being questioned in the interview about my ability to perform, show up and be effective simply because I was a single mother moving to a new country. The concern addressed in my interview was clear and I did not take it lightly. "I thrive on obstacles. If I'm told that it can't be done, then I push harder." - Issa Rae. My belief that I could start anew, continue with my online schooling journey, be a hands-on mom, perform effectively on a new job in a male-dominated environment and adjust to a new community seemed too far-fetched for the organization. I am proud to say that almost two years later, I am thriving. As a single mother, raised by a single mother who had great financial struggles over the years, my goal is to obtain my Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and render assistance in financial advisory and budgeting to women. I would like to create a discounted plan to help as many young women as possible and especially target young single mothers. It is my dream to assist and create a plan to aid women in obtaining a financially stable life at a young age. I was never taught financial literacy and come from a generation of women that knew nothing about financial freedom. Another goal of mine is to create a non-profit to assist women such as myself with scholarships to conquer their educational goals. Society says that a child brought up in a single-parent household is troubled and lacks values. It says that a single mother is bound to struggle and does not deserve respect in the community and in the workplace. Society also says that a single woman cannot lead effectively. I say that anything is possible and life's circumstances do not determine a person's future. Michelle Obama once said, "There is no limit to what we, as women can accomplish." I believe that the goals that I have are attainable no matter what society believes. I am determined to beat the odds.