By Abigail Headley
When he was young, US-based Guyanese travel nurse Laurice White had his heart set on becoming a lawyer. However, after he lost his father at the age of 16, his life took a different trajectory, leading to his current career and status as a happily married father of one.
The 25-year-old, who has overcome numerous challenges to achieve his goals, took some time off from his busy schedule to have a chat with Stabroek Weekend.
Growing up in the quiet village of Tempe, West Coast Berbice, his childhood was marked by simplicity and hard work. However, fun and an active social life were not excluded.
“I spent most of my childhood pretty much interacting with my cousins and neighbours,” he said. “So, you would always find me going to different homes and households in the village and then the back streets and on the roadside… playing cricket and different childhood games. And then mostly I would be at my grandma’s house next door. I would be spending time with my cousins who lived there until my mom or my dad would call for my sister and I to go home.”
White’s parents, Lethem, who was a rice farmer, and Marcia, an NIS Clerk made sacrifices to ensure that he and his younger sister Lashun received a good education. Together with his grandmothers Amy and Kathleen and various aunts and uncles, they instilled in him the values of honesty, discipline, and determination.
White attended Bush Lot Nursery School, Latchman Singh Primary School and Mahaicony Secondary School.
“One thing my father said, like, you know, he made the sacrifice to send myself and my sister to a school where you had to take transportation as opposed to a school nearby that you could have walked to because he just wanted to see betterment for us… I wasn’t born with a golden spoon in my mouth. He just wanted to make that, you know, sacrifice for us to get a good education. … My parents made sure that we took good care of our education; we were always making sure that our grades were topnotch,” he said.
Attending Mahaicony Secondary School, he said, remains among “the best years of my life”. It was there that he met and formed strong bonds with most of the friends he has now. Not only this, but it was where he was able to lay the foundation for his childhood aspiration of becoming a lawyer.
“Just for context, I was in the Arts Stream. And mind you, I knew that I had to go into the Arts Stream if I wanted to become a lawyer. So that was the goal. Like, I remember, in my ninth grade, the Science Head of Department was asking ‘you sure you don’t want to come into the Science Stream?’ And I was like, ‘No, I don’t’,” he recalled.
At the Caribbean Secondary Certificate Education examination, White secured passes in 10 subjects.
“After secondary school, I knew the next step, in my path to become an attorney, was for me to go to either UG to do a diploma or go to Sixth Form and do the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination. So, I chose the latter and I did that for two years at President’s College. I completed my associate degree in Humanities,” he explained.
“In President’s College, I lived on campus and it was a very new experience for me; an individual who was always commuting back-and-forth to school. Now living in that community with people from all 10 regions was a beautiful experience that I will always remember, because I was able to see a whole different culture. In Guyana there are six races and it’s like all six different races living…, eating…, doing activities of daily living, showering, you know, sports… so many different things under one roof,” he reminisced.
While he was almost at the end of his studies there, tragedy struck.
“In 2014, my father was diagnosed with a benign tumour on a part of his brain. After he was diagnosed, we were seeking options for treatment. He went to Jamaica. He had a second opinion in America at the John Hopkins Hospital, and unfortunately, it wasn’t a case where he was able to get surgery because it was on the brain stem. So, he ended up living with this benign non-cancerous tumour for approximately a year. In 2015 he passed away… After I lost my father, you know, that was a difficult time for my family and myself. Just never in a million years I would have thought that I was going to lose my father, so I had to adjust emotionally, mentally… As a teenager, that’s kind of difficult for anyone, you know, losing a parent… I was kind of cold but I tried to continue school. I remember I had to take an exam and it was difficult but I passed and successfully got my associate degree in Humanities,” he said.
Shortly after this tragedy, White, his mom, and his sister moved to the US to start a new life. At the age of 17, he had to adjust to a new culture and environment. Nonetheless, his determination and resilience helped him to thrive.
“I moved the summer of 2016 in June … My first job when I got here, I worked at McDonald’s. I always tell people if you’re trying to get a job at McDonald’s. It’s always a start for teenagers to make their first money. That’s like my first job ever. For me to get like a paycheck, you know, because in Guyana, I never worked. So that was something new to me,” he stated.
“So when I came to the States, I knew I had to continue college and in America was a whole different ball game in terms of the route that I have to take to go to law school. So, I knew I had to adjust to how to get there. I educated myself on a route to law school and the goal was to get a bachelor’s degree, and then do my LSAT entrance exam… I said let me go do Sociology, either a bachelor’s in Sociology or a bachelor’s in Criminology. Thankfully, some of the colleges were willing to accept some of the credits that I got in CAPE. I was about to enter one of them, but then I had a conversation with my uncle here in the States. He had a sit down with me and [said] ‘You want a degree [where] once you finish four years of college you’re gonna get a job right away and it’s going to pay’. He encouraged me to get into nursing, saying that nursing is a good option where you do a degree and you’re gonna always get a job,” he told Stabroek Weekend.
Taking his uncle’s advice, White worked hard to complete his prerequisites and enrolled in nursing school. His love for advocacy and helping others also encouraged his pursuit of a nursing career.
“If somebody is being treated unfairly, I would be the one to just speak up and so I kind of merged my passion for advocacy with nursing where I know that I like to help people…,” he said.
White spent two years in nursing school. He explained that it was a challenging experience due to the intense studying and need for discipline. However, through his education, he developed a love for the profession and his bedside manner excelled because of his people skills.
In addition to his academic achievements, White has also built a loving family with his wife, Shellon, whom he met back in Guyana. They have a daughter.
“About a year prior to starting nursing school, I ended up hopping into the DMs of my ex-girlfriend from back in Guyana. And we were able to reconnect and rejuvenate our love for each other. She was in college at the same time, in Texas, so we were in a long-distance relationship. She was visiting on our off days/semesters, and I would go to Texas, or she would travel here to Maryland and we would reconnect. The first year that I finished school and I was working as a nurse, she moved to Maryland and we moved in together. And after that, I proposed and got married to the love of my life. After a year or so she got pregnant and we got a beautiful baby. Her name is Legaci Amore White. So I’m going through my career post-grad life and marriage life and stuff in my family and my adult life… As a young couple we like to travel so we’ve been travelling a lot around and out of America. Our goal is to travel more to see the world with our baby girl,” he said.
White’s story is an inspiring testament to the power of determination and resilience and serves as a reminder that anyone can overcome adversity and achieve their dreams with hard work and dedication.
As White reflects on his journey, he is grateful for the support of his family, friends, and loved ones. He acknowledges that his parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins, and wife have all contributed to his growth and success; they played a vital role in shaping him into the person he is today.
“Since moving to the States, I’ve been going to Guyana several times. The first time I returned I was six months into my stay in America and I was homesick, so I just returned to see my friends. Guyana is a place that I would want to return to. However I definitely would want to see some simple upgrades to how stuff is being done; like their banking system should be made easier, like less paper-like cash; and better health care. I would always visit home, that’s my love. That’s my contract. I’m always proud to say I’m from Guyana,” he said.
White told Stabroek Weekend that he has not forgotten about his dream of becoming a lawyer and still intends to pursue it and once successful, he plans to focus on healthcare malpractice.
For young teenagers who have experienced loss, he encouraged them to continue healing, forgiving themselves, and grieving. He emphasised that grieving is a process that takes time and that it’s okay to feel pain and hurt.
“Allow yourself to go through that process and hope that you can continue to make them proud. They’re going to be happy for you wherever they are, no matter what,” he encouraged.
Noting that old wounds might reopen during significant moments, such as weddings, births, and graduations, White advised individuals to allow themselves to feel the pain and grief, but to also remember that they will always carry a part of their loved ones with them.
For those who have recently moved to the United States, he offered advice on how to adapt to the new way of life. He emphasised the importance of setting goals and working hard to achieve them, despite the challenges that may arise. “America brings a lot of stress and anxiety and it’s important to find coping skills and manage your stress through therapy or other means,” he advised.
