Dancehall artiste Mr Vegas is totally vivid and loving it.

Having carried out on quite a few phases throughout the globe in his 30-plus yr profession, right now, Clifford Smith’s journey takes him to a unique stage, one on which there is no such thing as a mic in his hand and no adoring followers screaming out his title and gyrating to his hit songs. He will make that all-important stroll throughout the stage to obtain his bachelor’s diploma in sociology/anthropology from the Florida International University (FIU). It is a stroll that Mr Vegas merely can’t wait to expertise.

“I have never walked across that stage, and someone handed me a diploma and say, you have graduated, or congratulations. Just walking across that stage at my age… yuh don’t even understand. It’s like mi can’t even explain the feeling. It’s one of the great moments of my life and maybe even the greatest moments of my life and perhaps will forever be the greatest moment of my life,” Mr Vegas mentioned.

He shared that when he graduated from Broward College, it was throughout the pandemic, so the ceremony was on-line. However, though he had performed the photograph shoot and had given them his image when his title was referred to as throughout the reside, his image didn’t seem on the display screen.

Frantically, he referred to as his professor to search out out what might probably have gone fallacious, in spite of everything, his family and friends had been watching on Facebook. His professor assured him that the whole lot was high quality and he would get to stroll throughout the stage when he did his grasp’s.

“That is something that stayed in my mind during this whole process at FIU when I was doing my bachelor’s. ‘Dr Sammy said you are going to walk across the stage.’ So even when the work get a way, mi tell myself, ‘Mi haffi walk across tha stage deh.’ I have witnessed my children walking across that stage, but I have never gone across that stage, never ever,” Vegas mentioned.

Mr Vegas shared that his kids performed a serious function in his journey to this new degree of self-actualisation, which began in 2019 when “he took on the task to re-educate [himself]” and earned his GED (General Education Diploma).

“I want to be the father who is able to assist them with school work when they call upon me. And I want to be able to inspire them that ‘Look, your daddy is doing it at this age. I set the rules down. Look, if anybody nah go university, anybody nah go further dem education after high school, then yuh going to get a job.’ I lay down those rules, so it’s only right that I show them that it can be done. And, of course, you have the naysayers who will say that artistes are just illiterate and we can’t hold a conversation. We are just supposed to just shut up and sing or shut up and deejay. And I want to do more than that. I want to be able to speak on social issues,” he acknowledged.

Vegas then registered at Broward Community College and graduated with a level in mass communication. That style of faculty life had him craving for extra data, and he subsequently enrolled at FIU to pursue a serious in sociology/anthropology and a minor in hospitality administration.

“For 18 months, I applied myself to the fullest, even when the pandemic and difficult assignments threatened to thwart my mission. Today, I am proud to say that I did it! Graduating with a 3.9 GPA is a testament that if you work diligently, your rewards will be great,” a proud Mr Vegas shared.

In a magnanimous gesture, he thanked all of the individuals who helped him alongside the best way and even managed to poke somewhat little bit of enjoyable at himself.

“Jay, my nephew, showed no signs of frustration when I kept making the same errors on basic mathematics problems. He chuckled when I cussed myself out for not remembering that two negatives make a positive. After Jay went off to university, I was fortunate to have Tracey, Imhotep, Stacey, Vanessa, Obondo, and Sherette, who prepared me for college and university studies. To them, I say thanks! To my teachers, especially Dr Sammy, you are making a major difference in this world. I am a product of your patience, knowledge, and commitment to make your students succeed,” Vegas wrote.

Ecstatic that this a part of the journey has come to an finish, Mr Vegas admitted, nevertheless, that faculty remains to be on his thoughts and the next diploma might very nicely be on the horizon.

“It’s very addictive. I miss reading, and I miss my peers. Right now, I have a little buzz in the music, but I am not ruling it out. I am definitely not ruling it out. I would love to get my master’s,” he acknowledged.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com