Caribbean Legislative Week
Last week, as part of Caribbean Legislative Week was held in DC as part of the Caribbean American Heritage Month activities. I, along with other interested Caribbean community and business leaders, attended a briefing with White House officials held in Washington, DC. The event, the brainchild of Dr. Claire Nelson Founder, Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS) was a huge success.
The intent of the briefing is to have an open discourse between the White House and the Caribbean American community. This dialogue spanned numerous issues of concern to the audience including health, education, and, of course, immigration. During the briefing, we learned that Dr. Nelson, in the very near future, would have her very own blog on the White House website!!! Kudos to Dr. Nelson, this is certainly an honor.
Attendees were given the rare opportunity to not only visit the White House and learn about Administration initiatives but also to network and meet like-minded Caribbeans.
Some of the information received was definitely news to me. For instance, did you know that you could possibly have your student loans forgiven if you go into public service? It was this kind of useful information that attendees benefited from.
However, as stated by Michael Blake, Assoc. Director African American & M<inority Business Outreach AND a proud Jamaican, the information is useless if not shared. So I am fulfilling my duty to spread the word!
Here is information regarding laon forgiveness:
Medical Professionals: http://nhsc.bhpr.hrsa.gov/
Public Service Loan Forgiveness: http://studentaid.ed.gov/
Teachers Loan Forgiveness: http://studentaid.ed.gov/
Anyone interested in loan forgiveness should contact their lender first to discuss their options. If it is a Perkins loan the student should call the school directly.
Immediately following the White House briefing guests attended a cocktail reception. All in all, bumpy bus ride notwithstanding, it was an informative and productive day at the White House!!!!
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