Oraine Christie was born in a very small, populated area in Kingston, Jamaica.“Kingston, Jam

Oraine Christie was born in a very small, populated area in Kingston, Jamaica. “Kingston, Jamaica is a very small area but it’s very populated and in that population everyone wants to achieve their goal and come out with something.” Growing up in Jamaica he held various jobs which included working for an insurance company as well as networking for various companies such as a mobile company out of England. In Jamaica, the process is rather different in order to go to college. “In Jamaica you have to pass certain amount of exams in order to go to college and so forth. I went to one of the elite high schools in Jamaica.” About two years ago, Oraine was able to come to the United States on a work permit for a company that he had a connection with through work. “I first came here because my cousin in Jamaica he has a girlfriend that worked up here and the company normally takes people from my country to come up here and work for usually certain amount of seasons so on and so forth.” Coming to the United States would allow him to generate a higher income than he would in Jamaica. “I am actually going after what I want to do, so that’s a big difference in my life.” Upon arriving to the United States, Oraine started off in the Dorchester area of Massachusetts where he had some family members. However, his main motivation was to receive his General Educational Development (GED) in order for colleges and universities in America to recognize his diploma so he enrolled in a GED class at Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island. After graduating with his GED from Dorcas International Institute, Oraine begin his journey to Harvard. He is currently attending Harvard Extension and will soon transfer to Harvard University, his “first and only choice”. “[Harvard] is where I wanted to go.” At this point in his life, Oraine considers attending Harvard his greatest accomplishment. However, Oraine has his sights set on the future and strives to attend Oxford University for his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). He also plans to go to law school. “I want everyone to be like ‘Oh he has an MBA from here and another one from here and then Esquire at the end of his name’….I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since I was young…I want to be able to be someone in life and I don’t want no one to be able to walk all over me. In Jamaica I would have given an arm and a leg to become a lawyer.” The constant movement between work, school, and socializing serves as a strong hold against sleep for typical Jamaican lifestyle, and Oraine had to adjust when he first arrived. “It is slow. Because I’m always up and about, as soon as it hits 6am I am up, that is just my natural clock. So when I’m up I try and make myself as busy as possible during the day because if I don’t I will not sleep at night.”Not used to all the down time here in America, Oraine tries very hard to be busy during the day, that way he will be able to sleep at night. Oraine has one complaint about the weather here in New England and that is that it changes too often; “Today will be good and then tomorrow it rains, then the next day is good and then rain! The fluctuation kills me!” Since his arrival, Oraine has not lost touch with his close friends and relatives. “We are in constant communication.” He hopes to soon visit friends who are now living in Canada and England. Oraine is also headed back to Jamaica come summertime to visit friends and family and celebrate his upcoming birthday. Oraine does not plan to slow his pace any time soon, in fact he is just beginning. As a loving father of a five-year-old son, Oraine works to give his child the opportunity to achieve his wildest dreams. “The other day he told me he wanted to be an artist, so I told him ‘draw’. It is America! He is the only thing that will keep him from accomplishing his dreams.” Oraine describes a certain drive embedded in his mind upon coming to America, “…everybody only got one life to live and you can’t let someone go and take that from you”.   Written and compiled by Emily Matthews and Phil Lynch -- source link

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