21-year-old Donella is an advocate for change and a Business student pursuing her diploma in Business Management at School of the Nations. She is determined to make her mark in the Finance field. Nicholson is currently employed at the Guyana Gold Board.
She is a multi-talented poet and has a passion for the arts. Her passion can be seen through her spoken word pieces, dances or writing itself. Additionally, through volunteerism with the United States (U.S.) Embassy Youth Action Network (YAN), she spends most of her time facilitating workshops that are aimed at positively impacting youth.
Her core values are rooted in her religion. Donella is an embodiment of the Scripture, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew Chapter 5 Verse 6). She always seeks to shine her light wherever she goes.
When asked about her passion for the arts, she said, “I was always passionate about the arts, especially writing. Throughout my primary and secondary education, I would always receive top honours for my writing skills and as I grew older writing wasn’t enough to express my emotions so spoken word poetry felt very much at home. When I started, I was inspired by my older sister (Doneika) so that passion blossomed and I continued to develop it.”
Nicholson would often utilise this gift by performing various pieces for her church and occasionally for other events, once she was given a specific topic. “With dancing, however, this connected me to God in many ways when I was at my low points and neither writing or speaking could help, so I grew to love that ministry with a great passion,” she mentioned.
Further she highlighted, “I am a Public and Impromptu Speaking coach and this also brings great happiness to me to be able to help others over challenges and develop their soft and hard skills in a similar way that volunteering does.”
One of the challenges Donella faces from time to time, is the fluctuation of her confidence to post pieces she would have performed, whether poem, dance or writing for the fear of public criticism.
There are also times when persons aren’t able to appreciate the depth of her work because of the passion she has for it and how invested she is; however, her coping method is usually seeking advice from her mentor as to how to keep on pressing forward, as many times the criticisms she receives are harsh. Those comments/criticisms also help to fluctuate her confidence.
“Sometimes, I just activate the ‘I don’t care mentality’ and just proceed to do what I know I was called to and not be bothered by things I can’t control. Shopping can also be therapeutic, so I do that at times, as it helps,” Nicholson told Village Voice News.
When asked for advice, the young poet mentioned, “As Nike Said, ‘Do it!!!’ Just go for it! There may be hindrances and obstacles at times but no great person was able to build a name for themselves without having to overcome some challenges. Success is a journey, not a destination, and with that being said be sure to learn from your experiences and continue seeking different ways to improve/perfect your craft, the right people will appreciate you for that, be it many or few. they will. You can’t know what’s in store until you give it a try.”
In the future, Donella plans to harness and utilise her potential in the best way that would aid in her personal and professional development. She also plans on completing her Bachelor’s in Finance this year, publishing her book, and working on her confidence to post her pieces. She is also working on establishing her own business, being more social and giving back to her church and community.
