The Tribune

By FELICITY DARVILLE

SHE was only 15 years old when she blew her parents, teachers, family and friends away by becoming a student at the College of The Bahamas (now University of The Bahamas). Going to college at such an early age turned out to be a blessing for Lakeisha A Rolle, as she discovered her passion and developed a blossoming career in finance.

“After sitting and passing seven BGCSEs in the 11th grade, I transitioned from high school to the College of The Bahamas where I enrolled in the Bachelor of Business Administration program with a concentration in economics and finance,” Lakeisha said.

“My favourite subject in high school was economics and somehow in college, I really fell in love with finance. My mother actually encouraged me to pursue a double major and as I went through the listing, economics and finance looked pretty interesting. I had no idea what finance was about, but I am so glad I took her advice.”

In a world with fast-paced learning, tougher assignments, no hand-holding, and classmates older than her, Lakeisha managed to stay focused and to shine. In 2013, she graduated from the College of The Bahamas with a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Economics and Finance.

“During my senior year,” she said, “I secured a part-time job working in financial services where I was provided with an opportunity to work directly with the vice president of investments at a local investment firm. This is where my career blossomed and from there, I learned more about the industry, financial products, the investment market, and how everything came together.”

Lakeisha gained valuable work experience and was inspired by how powerfully people’s lives were transformed by gaining financial knowledge. On several occasions, she had the opportunity to sit in on client advisory meetings. She was able to interact with clients and learn more about products that suited various types of clients based on their financial profile. She also put to good use the knowledge gained from professional examinations in the industry.

With a good headstart in her tertiary education, Lakeisha decided to pursue it further. She went on to earn a Master of Science Degree in business management with a concentration in finance from Edinburgh Napier University in 2015.

Lakeisha began her professional career as an investment assistant at the former Colonial Pension Services (Bahamas) Limited, where she assisted with the monitoring of investment securities and providing analytical reports.

She later transitioned to the Securities Commission of The Bahamas where she worked with professionals from a broad section of the industry. She was also a part of the Investor Education Team which promoted financial literacy among partnering schools.

While at Genesis Fund Services, Lakeisha served as a Junior Fund Accountant and Securities Analyst as her career developed, working with international clients in the area of fund administration.

“I have always enjoyed giving advice and analyzing scenarios. I also discovered that I had the gift of teaching, and this is how my passion for education grew, both among youth as I began speaking at youth events and people that were a little older than me, as I began providing financial consultations” she said.

“It was a great way to blend my career in financial services with my gift of teaching and sharing financial education.”

Lakeisha found that many of the people she encountered needed access to more financial knowledge in order to make sound decisions and help improve the lives of their families. Financial literacy is the knowledge of how to make smart decisions with money. Without it, people run the risk of poverty.

With this in mind, Lakeisha began to ponder on the ways she could use her knowledge and skills to help others. In the year 2019, she took a leap of faith and founded her company, The Financial Academy.

The mission of The Financial Academy is to “provide practical ways in which young people can create a more secure financial future by making healthy financial choices today”. Since its inception in 2019, The Financial Academy has facilitated conferences, seminars, summer camps, and workshops for children, teens and young adults locally and internationally in countries within the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, and North America.

“The Financial Academy not only provides financial literacy programmes for youth,” she said, “But also highlights the important role that financial education plays in shifting the financial outlook of individuals and families, and most of all, the power it contains to break the cycle of generational poverty!”

“At age 27, I founded The Financial Academy and at age 29, I received a vision to plan a conference that offered unique topics for a wide range of youth that would encourage them to BLOOM in every area of their personal finance journey and to inspire them to get started at an early age.”

The conference, under the theme “BLOOM”, attracted more than 250 young people to its in-person and virtual event. Topics included: digital assets, estate planning, budgeting, investing, saving, insurance, entrepreneurship, insurance, and philanthropy.

BLOOM 2023 included not only students in New Providence, but also students from Exuma, Grand Bahama, Long Island and San Salvador, who attended virtually. The students enjoyed learning about insurance, making a will, creating a business and a business plan, digital citizenship, investing, and wise spending habits.

Parents spoke highly of the conference as described it as top-tier and well organized. Children went home and had conversations with their parents about money, and even gave their parents advice on how they could better manage their money.

BLOOM’s success was followed by a robust summer schedule for The Financial Academy as popularity continues to build for its products which help bring financial literacy to those who need it.

This year’s third annual summer camp was held under the theme “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” It was hosted from July 17-20 in collaboration with Drewber Solutions. The summer camp focused on topics such as debit, credit and borrowing, blockchain, crypto currency, budgeting, saving, savings challenges, needs and wants, spending habits and investment basics for teens.

In addition to the Millionaire Mindset Summer Camp, The Financial Academy also held Private Financial Literacy Camps at Willie Mae Pratt Centre for Girls and Simpson Penn for Boys. Lakeisha also led the launch of the SWIFT Financial Education Certificate Program for Schools, ensuring that financial education for young people will continue long after the summer months end.

Lakeisha obtained the certified financial education instructor designation with the National Financial Educators Council in 2021 and became a certified financial coach in 2023. She is a financial coach and course instructor at Drewber Solutions. In 2022, Lakeisha became the first personal finance teacher at the International School of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology where she taught high school students from Grades 7–12 in the subjects of business history, economics, and personal finance.

“I am the first born and only daughter of a retired nurse and nursing educator (Dr Lisa Stovel-Rolle) and a building contractor (Lawrence Rolle),” Lakeisha told me.

“Growing up, I watched my parents work tirelessly to provide for the family. I was born into a family filled with educators and entrepreneurs, but I did not realize this until I was well in my twenties. I grew up around a grandmother that taught kindergarten, made school uniforms, and sold drinks from her house, which sounds a little like me now at age 30. I am a third-generation educator and entrepreneur and I enjoy providing unique products and services for students inside and outside of the classroom.”

“My family always taught me the importance of prayer and giving back. Every weekend we had devotions, every Sunday, we attended church, and occasionally, we would donate our time, talent, and treasure to the various civic organizations we were involved in within the community.”

She also credits her grandmother, Mary Stovel (age 84) and grandaunt Louise Simmons (age 101) for their encouragement as she continues to excel.

“I credit God for everything he has blessed me with and the individuals he continues to place in my circle,” she said.

The Financial Academy was launched through Lakeisha’s passion as well as through financing facilities and empowerment programmes that she utilised at the start of her entrepreneurial journey. Among them, she is the successful recipient of a grant from the Access Accelerator Small Business Development Center’s Standalone Grant in 2021 and the winner of the Deltec Young Entrepreneurs Award in 2022.

The Financial Academy also offers a range of free and paid resources for children, teens and parents, including its “Financial Literacy Skill Building Guide” which is accessible for instant download on the company’s website http://www.thefinancialacademy.co.