Jamaican Lesleyann Samuel receives KCOBA Community Leadership and Philanthropy Award

Lesleyann Samuel, a Jamaican-born engineer and community leader, has been recognized for her lifetime of volunteerism with the latest honor: the Kingston College American Alumni Association (KCOBA) Community Leadership and Philanthropy Award.

The award is one of several given annually by the New York Chapter of the Kingston College Alumni Association to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the American community.

Samuel is an alumnus of the Immaculate Conception High School (ICHS) in Jamaica and served as Federation of Jamaican Alumni Associations (USA). (UJAA) was recognized for his contributions to the ICHS Alumni Association and for his achievements during his eight-year term as UJAA President from 2014-2022.

The award, presented in May at KCOBA USA’s annual gathering and awards gala at Antun’s in Queens Village, New York, is the latest in Samuel’s nearly four decades of volunteer and philanthropic community work.

Passionate about community service

Born in Kingston, Jamaica to R. Karl and Olga Samuel, Samuel’s passion for community service was inspired at an early age by his aunt, the late Dothlyn Joyce (“Dotty”) Campbell, who served as Director of Dance for the Jamaica Festivals Committee (now the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission – JCDC).

– advertise –

According to Samuel, “Besides her job, my aunt volunteered at multiple organizations and was always helping others. That’s when I understood that there’s more to life than just our daily jobs. Life is about taking responsibility. For me, that meant doing what I felt I was supposed to do and being there for those who might need the help that I could give.”

Lesleyann Samuel immigrated to the United States at age 13 and attended Samuel J. Tilden High School (now Meyer Levin Junior High School) in Brooklyn before winning a scholarship to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an engineering school in upstate New York. She graduated from Rensselaer with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, making her one of a small but growing number of black female engineers employed by large communications and technology companies in the early 1980s.

She joined New Jersey Bell, which later became Bell Atlantic and finally Verizon. After more than a decade working for Verizon in Maryland, she returned to the tri-state area with the same desire to “give back.”

– advertise –

“I first got involved with my alma mater, Immaculate, as I am the fifth generation in my family to attend the school. My mom had always been involved with the alumni association, first in Jamaica and then in New York, so my sisters and I followed suit. Then in 2012, I started to get closely involved with UJAA – serving on the board and really enjoying going to Jamaica and making a contribution. So in 2014, I decided to take the next step and run for UJAA president, following in the footsteps of my sister Karlene, who preceded me as president.”

Karlene encouraged Lesleyann to “step up” and supported her throughout her journey.

Samuel said: “Most of us are active in the Alumni Association because we attended great schools with great teachers. By giving back (I purposely never use the word ‘giving back’ because that is not our orientation), we demonstrate our patriotism – our love for Jamaica – and help ensure that our future generations have experiences as good as or better than ours.”

Her term as UJAA president was extended due to the coronavirus pandemic, and by the end of her term in 2022, UJAA membership had grown from 32 to more than 60 alumni organizations—an achievement she is particularly proud of.

Supporting robotics in Jamaican schools

With a background in engineering, she is also UJAA’s lead force in supporting robotics in Jamaican schools, and in recent years she has accompanied several delegations of Jamaican students to international robotics competitions. Her latest project with her Immaculate Alumnae Association includes expanding the robotics program to Immaculate Preparatory School, which participated in the FIRST® LEGO League Jamaica program in late June.

Lesleyann Samuel has discovered that one of the greatest ironies of her life of service is that community volunteering has influenced her career, not the other way around.

“Oddly enough, my leadership and communication skills were developed through community work and helped develop my career as an engineer—not the other way around. I was committed to high standards of performance in both. I also understood that working with volunteers was very different from working with people who were paid to do the work. And I also stayed optimistic and kept going as if success was inevitable.”

The award-winning

In addition to her recent KCOBA award, Lesleyann Samuel has received numerous other awards including the Bob Marley One Love Leadership Award from the Coalition to Stop the Violence, the Caribbean Life Impact Award, the Founder’s Award from the ICHS Alumni Association, and the U.S. House of Representatives Proclamation from Congresswoman Yvette Clark.

As for the future, Samuel isn’t ready to slow down just yet.

“I want to get a PhD in organizational leadership,” she said. “So I’m currently looking for a program that’s right for me. I also want to do more work in Jamaica and am always looking for ways to contribute in new ways. But overall, I’m open to possibilities — just like I’m always ready to step into doors when they open.”