Language lover wants help to attend French university

At age 20, Shemar Findley from Jubilee Town in Linstead, St Catherine, speaks multiple languages.

“I’m fluent in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and I’m very advanced in German, Italian, and Korean and, of course, my native Creole and English,” he said.

Findley said that he developed an interest in languages while in third form at St Jago High.

“And then YouTube has been my best friend. I use it to learn the languages; it’s like a hobby. I find it to be very fun and challenging,” he said, adding that he’ll soon be moving on to Mandarin.

Now, the University of the West Indies (UWI) first-year international relations student has found a medium to utilise his skills.

He has been chosen to attend The Sciences Po Bordeaux University in France for nine months as part of a five-year programme with the UWI that will see him graduating with a master’s degree in politics and international cooperation. But he lacks the funds needed to take advantage of this opportunity.

“I have a scholarship from Sagicor that will cover my tuition, so I’ll mostly need funding for living and miscellaneous fees which is estimated to be €500 (nearly J$74,000) per month,” he said. The programme starts in September.

Findley, the seventh of 10 children, is from a single-parent household. His mother does small-scale livestock farming, and so she will not be able to cover the cost.

As the first one in his family to attend university, Findley told THE WEEKEND STAR that he wants to make a big impact.

“It means a lot, especially for my younger siblings. I want to show them that despite where we’re coming from, it’s possible to move forward. I want to motivate them. I want them to continue and not fall in that cycle of poverty that has been in existence in my family for a long time,” he said.

Persons willing to help Findley can contact him at 876-791-3180.