Sherene McIntyre is a Portland native. Her formative years were spent living in the parishes of St Ann and St Mary until she finally settled in St. Catherine. She spent her childhood days as a Hearing child but at seven (7) years old she contracted Meningitis which resulted in her losing her hearing.
This did not prevent Sherene from working to achieve her goals. She was Head girl of the Lister Mair/Gilby High School for the Deaf and held various leadership positions before graduating.
Sherene worked as a Clerk at the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities and while there she saw the need for furthering her studies. This led to participation in a Fast Track English program – a USAID/JAD project to help Deaf and/or Hard of Hearing(D/HH) persons master the English language.
This opportunity was a stepping stone to her next career move as an Assistant Teacher at Danny Williams School for the Deaf (DWSD) where she spent eleven (11) years. While working at DWSD, she realized that Deaf children and Deaf adults need a lot of help; not just with their education but also emotionally, psychological, socio-economic and these are just to name a few.
Through observation and experience, Sherene expresses that not everyone who claims that they are qualified are actually equipped to serve certain groups of people such as the Deaf Community. Sherene continued to feel the tug towards the field of Social Work.
She strongly believes it takes more than a degree to reach a specific group of people. Helping a community with special needs to which you are being called takes patience, heart and love to invest in them. Recognizing that she has the passion to do more for the Deaf Community, Sherene went to further her studies to become a qualified Social Worker, so that she can be sufficiently equipped to assist individuals in the Deaf community.
She is currently completing her Bachelors Degree in the field of Social Work at the Jamaica Theological Seminary to fulfill her calling. With one semester left to make this a reality, she is in need of funding to help her finish her studies to become qualified. In efforts to assist herself, she is currently working as a Deaf Culture Facilitator in the Social Services division at the Jamaica Association for the Deaf but needs funding urgently to finish her last semester which commences May 2022.
