Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
Raul intends to pursue the master's internship programme at the IDB.

At a time when young Jamaican men are idling their lives away on neighbourhood street corners, either playing dominoes or ogling nubile young ladies passing by, Raul Davis is going against the grain. Like a lone salmon swimming determinedly against the current, he charts a new course to success.

For the 23-year-old University of the West Indies (UWI) graduate, life had been generally laid-back, dotted with the occasional fête on campus, where his dancing prowess earned him the nickname 'Mr. Wacky'. However, one phone call in April 2006 irrevocably changed his life.

It is not every day that someone is chosen to represent his or her country internationally. For Raul, one of only two Jamaican interns at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) this past summer, the odds of working there were even greater. Washington D.C was a far cry and a million miles away from Smithville, where he spent his early years with his mother, two brothers and grandparents, not to mention Portmore, where he has lived since the age of 14. Yet, it would prove to be a major defining point in his life.

"I was on the Internet one day and saw something on the Diversity Employment Programme," he explains. "It's a programme for Afro-descendants and indigenous people, that is, for South Americans who are indigenous Indians, and member countries from the USA and the Caribbean who are black. I applied in January, but didn't remember anything about it."

Understandably so. He faced competition that was stiffer than petrified wood. Yet, he beat many others who had applied years earlier, not to mention some incredible odds - 4,000 to one!

Then, the phone call in April that forever changed his life.

"Someone called and asked if I was Raul Davis and if I had applied to the Diversity Employment Programme," he informs. "I said yes, although I didn't remember anything about it. The whole interview was in Spanish, but it wasn't difficult, because I had done Spanish up to A' Levels at Glenmuir High."

His proficiency in Spanish would prove to be an asset. In addition to the French and Portuguese he had learned while at UWI, he was able to converse competently in these official languages at the IDB.

Raul lived in Laurel, Maryland, a city about 14 miles north-east of Washington D.C., and worked independently in the latter, just two blocks from the White House. Unlike other interns at the IDB, who normally got a cubicle, fate would hand him the luxury of an office. His functions included consultancy work regarding guidelines on expenditure, and creating reports for profiles tailored to IDB specifications.

However, the unforgettable highlight of his experience was meeting Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller for the first time.

ART GALLERY

"June is celebrated as Caribbean month in D.C.," he says. "I heard that she was coming to the bank one afternoon. I thought she would have been in the lobby, but I learned later that she had been in the art gallery. When I went there, she was surrounded by security, so I didn't get to talk to her one-on-one. However, I got to meet her at the inauguration function at which she spoke. She invited me to visit her when I returned home."

For this humble, young Jamaican 'ambassador' who performed impressively during his stint at the IDB, the world is his oyster.

"A lot has happened this year," he confesses. "This whole experience has changed me on my levels. I used to be very laid-back, but now I try to grab opportunities." He laughs. "That was also the first time I applied for something and got through. This year, I applied for three things and got through."

He was referring not only to his acceptance at the IDB, but also to the University of Nottingham, where he received a part-scholarship to pursue a masters programme in social and global policy. Unfortunately, certain circumstances compelled him to defer the programme. However, he intends to reapply. And the third thing? The French Embassy had approved his application to travel to France to teach English, but he could not have taken up the offer, due to his internship.

Raul intends to pursue the master's internship programme at the IDB, then move on to the Young Professionals' programme, which would provide him with an entry level position at the bank. Later, he plans to apply to the United Nations.

"I'm interested in international politics, and want to be involved in the developmental aspect of interdependency and social aspects," he admits, "especially since I've learned that the policies of the IDB are changing. They want to hear the voices of the minorities."

At present, he is actively job hunting. To keep himself otherwise occupied, he has authored about seven pieces, and directed five of them for an annual theatre competititon on the UWI campus, where he has been living at Taylor Hall since 2003. In addition, he will perform a foreign language piece.

In a Jamaican culture that glorifies the 'bad man' philosophy, Raul shuns this macho mindset. He encourages young Jamaican men to "stay focused", and to "upgrade themselves", and master a technical skill.

Raul Davis is daring to be different. In fact, while others of his gender are choosing to be mindlessly swept away by the fierce current of their circumstances, he is charting his own course to success. And he's doing it one step at a time.