How the men of Ithaca taught one young man the importance of ambition

THE sparks of welding metals together and the thumping bassline of a song are two things that are not usually paired. But these are two things that D’Andre Walcott thoroughly enjoys. D’Andre is a 25-year-old man from the captivating community of Ithaca. He works as a welder by day, while he deejays under the alias of ‘Selector Thunder’ by night. Today, trying to make a life for himself as a father of one, D’Andre says that ambition is the most important lesson he has ever learned. And although it was a lesson not taught by his father, he is asking other young men like himself to persevere in the face of adversity.

D’Andre grew up in Ithaca with great influence and support from his community. Ithaca has cultivated a very rich culture of brotherly love. D’Andre described Ithaca as a place where neighbours form and cherish strong bonds. He shared that, “I have lived in the village of Ithaca my whole life. Growing up here was very nice and the people around here are very welcoming and supportive. It is like everybody here is family, although we are not related by blood.”

D’Andre grew up as the eldest of four siblings. This placed a lot of responsibility on him at a young age. D’Andre was not exposed to a father figure in his home for the larger part of his childhood. “I used to support my mother. I knew my father, but I never grew up with him. It was just me, my mother and my stepfather.” D’Andre shared. His stepfather, however, later left the family when D’Andre was 14 or 15 years old.

“It was tough for us when my stepfather left,” D’Andre shared, who became his family’s sole provider. D’Andre’s family was placed under pressure. “It was just my mother and she was not working at that time,” he said. D’Andre stepped up to help his mother provide for his three younger siblings. However, as challenging as it was, D’Andre says he never felt like he lost a father figure. The older men in his village also stepped up to the plate to teach him what he needed to learn about manhood. “I had a lot of people around here that would support me and plenty of big men as friends, so, it never really affected me… I had father figures in this community. The men in this village taught me the ropes” he said.

The greatest lesson imparted on him by his community was the importance of having big ambitions in life, regardless of the current circumstances. “Ambition is important because you need to believe in yourself and know that you have to get things done and learn to make sacrifices.” D’Andre stated.

D’Andre is a father of one, his daughter. The pair have an amazing relationship. Although he is not married to her mother, D’Andre makes the utmost effort to be present in his daughter’s life. He tries his best to juggle two jobs with parenting, and he says yes, there are difficulties, but D’Andre is adamant that everything will turn out for the best. “Sometimes with work and her is tough. But I try my best to manage and set my time,” D’Andre explained.

Dropping out of school is what D’Andre cited as his biggest regret. Going back to school, however, is now one of his biggest goals. He is a welder by trade, something he learnt a few years ago. Developing his own workshop is also something D’Andre is currently working on as he has set up shop at his Ithaca home. “I am now working on opening my workshop, and I am getting there,” he shared. “I left school when I was 16. I did not write CXC.”

D’Andre’s upbringing was what some may consider humble but had rough beginnings. D’Andre says that in times of struggle, grasping what you can is integral to the future. He urged young men like himself to not take anything for granted, because when the importance is recognised, it may be too late. “My advice to the youths is easy. I would advise them to stay in school and try to further their studies as much as possible. Because as it is right now, I want to go back to school. But I cannot because there are too many things happening,” he said.

D’Andre does his job as a welder with immense joy, but his true passion lies in music. To D’Andre, music is somewhat of an escape.“I like everything about music. It is very relaxing,” he said. “It calms you down, it raises people up, music is life.”