Neighbor News
Inspiration with Jennifer Hawkins and CWRU Spartans Toastmasters
Meet Jennifer and learn to speak confidently
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Ohio - Jennifer Hawkins immigrated to America from Jamaica at 12 with two sisters, and a brother, rejoining her mother in Northeast Ohio. Three years earlier, Jennifer’s mother answered an advertisement for domestic help in the Jamaican Daily Gleaner newspaper of Kingston. Her dad arrived in December 1970 to secure a job to help support the family. While Cleveland became home for Jennifer in 1971, Jamaica holds the special bond of language, memory, family, and home for Jennifer.
With hard work, sacrifice, and a support system of strong parents and siblings, Mrs. Jennifer Hawkins is living a self-made Dream right here in Cleveland, Ohio.
Mrs. Hawkins works for Case Western Reserve. In 2004, Jennifer earned a B.A. in communications with minors in accounting and history. In 2017, Jennifer added a Masters of Nonprofit Organizations (MNO) from CWRU’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Science.
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Eighteen years after first setting foot in her new American home, Jennifer and her family returned to Jamaica to attend her aunt’s wedding. Jennifer returns every 3-4 years now.
“Returning to (my) native land was an exciting and rewarding experience,” Hawkins said. “It brought back many memories and rekindling with the language she once spoke.”
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Knowing this inspired history is only the beginning. Mrs. Hawkins joined CWRU Spartans Toastmasters Club to share the excitement of speaking and experiencing her story with others.
Toastmasters affords the opportunity to practice speaking the language of one’s new home, or to rekindle the memories of home with friends of an adopted culture in a safe, mutually supportive environment.
Case Western Reserve University hosts Jennifer’s CWRU Spartans Toastmasters Club at 2120 Cornell Road in Cleveland on the first and third Tuesday of each month. The meetings take place from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm.
Curious to learn more about Jennifer? Interested to learn more about a club that supports speaking with comfort and ease? If yes, consider calling Alicia Smith-Kirk at 216-219-9619. Also, you may email Alicia at aliciasmithkirk@gmail.com.
