Be authentic, ask, persevere, add color, and always show up! The essence of Shawn Ashman and the values by which she lives. She is not defined by her many successes as an IT professional. She is more than an international artist who bares her soul on canvas to paint her life beautifully. She doesn’t bask in the athletic pursuits and accomplishments of being on the national softball team, cheerleading, basketball, and tennis, nor in her track and field activities that led to her being designated an All-American. Instead, Shawn is a multi-dimensional woman with a deep love for art, dance, and singing and has learned how to balance the various facets of her life. For her, perspective is everything, so she is fearless in her pursuits to live her life to its full potential while finding joy in everything she does. As a first impression, Shawn radiates an aura of contentment. She is authentic with her story, adding genuine emotions, vulnerabilities, and a joyful presence, and there is consistency in her journey. Rather than stay focused on challenges as disappointments, she values them as lessons and simply “grows through them.”
Born in Kingston’s inner city of Grant’s Pen, Jamaica, Shawn grew up in a modest home with her parents and siblings. She discovered her knack for taking her “never-ending series of struggles and adding her creative touches, turning them into positives for her.” Not one to focus on her family’s lack of resources, she engaged in creative problem-solving. According to her, “from a very, very early age, I’ve been creative, and that has inspired me throughout my entire life. I have found ways to survive, make things happen, learn, grow, explore, and be where I am today.” Shawn’s life embodies the observation, “Challenge and adversity are meant to help you know who you are. Storms may hit your weakness, but they unlock your true strength”.
In true Jamaican style, her creativity-inspired activities are relative to “tek yuh hand tun fashion”—meaning, when resources are scarce, use what you have to achieve your goal.
One of Shawn’s early influences is her maternal grandmother, now in her mid-nineties. “She was a different person; something about her resonated with me. She’s always in a good space, and she has good energy. And when you’re around her, you just felt safe.” So Shawn emulated her, including her faith. “We had to go to church every week.” Then, recognizing her material limitations, Shawn tapped into her resourcefulness, sharing that she worshipped at more than ten churches within her area. “I only had three dresses, so I’d go to one church for three weeks, then rotate at other churches to ensure that I would not be looked on disapprovingly or become distracted pointlessly”.
Find a Path Forward
While in high school, Shawn channeled her ingenuity, took the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), and earned a distinction in art. Beaming with pride, she shared her desire to be a fashion designer, so she took fashion and fabrics. Although she excelled, the dream of attending the Edna Manley College for the Performing Arts was deferred. “I did not have the requisite monies to register; my mother couldn’t afford it, and then she couldn’t get the loan because she didn’t have any collateral to secure it”.
As a result, Shawn continued to the Sixth Form at Merl Grove High School, where she focused on business. She did exceptionally well in Information Technology (IT) and gained a scholarship to the United States to study in that field. She later completed her Master’s degree in Management Information Systems (MIS) at the University of the West Indies.
Although Shawn recognized her passion for the creatives and shined in art at school, she did not follow that career path initially. Instead, her trajectory changed, and that deviation lasted two decades. For her, it wasn’t a choice but practicality and a need. This has informed her belief that her challenges forced her to take specific paths in her life. For example, early in her life, Shawn recognized her difficulties in reading and comprehending. “I’d see and read words differently. But I found creative ways of learning.” Challenges were present in just about every phase of her progression, and tapping into her established practice of turning lemons into lemonade, Shawn crafted solutions, one issue at a time.
Persist through Challenges
Shawn’s ability to persevere is laudable. She thrives on asking for what she needs and believes it dramatically contributes to her success. At every phase when a challenge arose, she calculated precisely what was required, devised a strategy, and executed it exactly. At the heart of her process is asking.
Describing herself as “a little rambunctious child,” she learned from a very early age to ask for what she needed. “I grew up asking because I was poor. So, if I wanted something, I asked. It was, may I borrow this, or may I use this? Can you help me with this? I had no issues asking. I was on the lunch program in school because I didn’t have enough food to eat during the day, I went to my teacher and asked, “can you put me on the program?” Convinced she had everything to gain, Shawn established confidence in asking, never harboring the thought of getting a negative response.
Continuing to demonstrate fearlessness in her endeavors, at age seventeen, Shawn got the opportunity for a scholarship. Her mom had visited England, and her dad was preoccupied, so she was tasked with gathering the requirements for the application. As part of the prerequisites, she needed a recommendation from her high school, which was easily secured because “I had good grades, volunteered, and was on a track team.” However, she also needed a reference letter from a Pastor or a Police Officer. She went to a Pastor in her community who told her, “You’re not a member of my church, I cannot give you a recommendation”.
With an unshakable resolve and a firm belief in “ask, and it will be given”, she decided she would get that letter. Shawn organized herself with evidence in tow to support her ask, including school report cards, her CXC results, and her other recommendation. She brought it all to show the Inspector that she was a good person. Despite being told that the Inspector was busy and on an important call, she remained adamant while emphasizing the urgency of her matter. After an extended period, she spoke with the Inspector, whom she later discovered, was Cornwall ‘Bigga’ Ford, one of the most prominent police officers then. ” Sir, I need you to write me a recommendation. This is my circumstance, and if you don’t do this, I don’t know what will become of me. My life is so hard. I don’t have anybody to take care of me. So, this is what I’m doing for myself.” Her perseverance paid off!
With new responsibilities, including taking care of her younger brother, Shawn reasoned that while life was better than before, she needed to get a Master’s degree to make a difference and grow in her career. But, again, she faced a familiar hurdle—no money to pay for school, not even the requisite first-semester school fee. She did, however, have a boldness to ask. Prepared with a planned solution to her issue, she engaged the institution. Although she was first denied, she escalated her appeal, patiently waited, and prayed until a decisionmaker allowed her to start the program. During the last term, Shawn hit another snag. Unable to secure the final payments, as graduation neared, she decided that not completing the program was not an option despite the financial challenges. She visited a Member of Parliament’s office and waited for his return, perfecting her approach, she asked, “Sir, you have an opportunity to help me”, explaining what was happening with her—he wrote a check for the balance of the master’s program fees.
Asking was not limited to personal challenges; whether it was a platform, a program, or a project at work, she did not hesitate to ask. “If I have an idea, I am never shy to ask, “can I give it a try?” and most often, “they would say yes.” Her bold approach, especially her practice of asking, is never without criticism or questions, “I think that is one of the things that a lot of people don’t like about me. They argue that I’m too bold, but it doesn’t deter me from asking. On the contrary, it’s an approach that has served me well.”
Honor Commitments
We are cautioned to “Focus our efforts on adding value rather than promoting our achievements.” This represents Shawn’s approach to telling her story—stopping periodically to check herself as she formulates her response. She was convinced that her professional commitment to contribute to Jamaica’s growth and development had run its course. “One of the objectives was for me to return home and give back to the country. I think I’ve done that.”
Read More Of Shawn’s Feature in the latest issue of TheBeyondWoman Magazine.
