NYU Steinhardt's Office of Leadership and Innovation and the Department of Administration, Leadership, and Technology, in partnership with exalt and the Fund for the City of New York, hosted a conversation with the Opposition Leader of the House of Representatives of Belize, Hon Dr. Shyne Barrow.
Director of Leadership and Innovation and Clinical Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Noel Anderson introduced Barrow, who spoke alongside Distinguished Clinical Adjunct Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Lisette Nieves, exalt Executive Director Gisele Castro, and Ikim Powell, who works on exalt’s alumni partnerships.
Speaking to a crowded room that included many of exalt’s youth participants, Barrow discussed his childhood as an immigrant and the son of a single mother in Brooklyn, and the challenges he faced. “Nobody in Brooklyn cared about my background – I was just a poor immigrant kid. But I had, and everyone here has, the ability to work hard and develop the foundation to be whatever it is that they want to be,” he said.
It’s such a privilege and honor to be able to talk to people who have been impacted the way I have been impacted, and that is truly the purpose of my life.
Barrow emphasized the role that education and mentorship played in guiding him. “Life for us was frustrating, but I had a sense of confidence and a sense of vision and I read a lot. Reading takes you out of your world and introduces you to other worlds, and other possibilities,” Barrow said. “At one point, I’d gotten into a fight and been expelled, but the superintendent gave me the chance to talk to him. I was expressing myself. I was articulate because I read so much. And he was blown away, and he understood that I wasn’t being challenged, and I needed to be in a school where I could be challenged.”
Seizing the chance to further his education, Barrow was nevertheless frustrated by the challenges of adapting to a new school. However, support and guidance from his mentors gave him the willpower to persevere, as did his exposure to literature and art.
Barrow shared, “It’s difficult to transform. I was interning for Justice Ramos – leaving the most dangerous neighborhood and Brooklyn and going to the judge’s chambers. But he believed in the promise of a bright kid from where I was from. I interned at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and being in that world helped me to tap into the vision and the gift that I had.”
Barrow highlighted the impact that organizations like exalt, which intervenes and provides support for court-involved youth through structured classes, individualized counseling, placement in paid internships, and an alumni network of resources, can have on young people struggling with a broad range of challenges.
“It’s such a privilege and honor to be able to talk to people who have been impacted the way I have been impacted, and that is truly the purpose of my life. I’m no better than them – but it takes drive, perseverance, and stamina,” Barrow said.
“I started with nothing in Belize and then, growing up in Brooklyn, I learned integrity and character and principle there. You couldn’t lie to your friends, you couldn’t get your friends in trouble – you had to be who you say you were. You have to live yourself into the life you want. Seeing people like me, or people like Dr. Anderson speaking to the youth – it shows that you can accomplish anything, if you see people like you who are living the life you want.”
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