Kensley Shay is a humble and resilient native of the parish of St Thomas, blessed by the rising sun in the mornings, a proud son of the East. He is a past student of the St Thomas Technical High school where he was able to obtain eight (8) subjects in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Exams (CSEC) and eight (8) units in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exams (CAPE). While completing his secondary education, he was constantly encouraged by his mother who is his primary influence in everything that he does. Living in rural St. Thomas, attending 6th form was not the norm and he was therefore driven to excel in school. Due to financial constraints, Kensley did not have the option of furthering his education into a tertiary institution. As such, at the age of 16 years old, while in lower 6th form, he decided to take the entrance examinations for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). 

Kensley enlisted in the JCF on February 18, 2012, at the age of 19 years. After joining the workforce, the thought of a university education started to feel like a distant memory as he started to encounter the perils of an unpredictable and complex work environment. The desire to attend University always remained with him but this was plagued with uncertainty as he was unsure how to sync an academic life with his professional one. This dilemma was resolved with the introduction of the Weekend Programme at the University of the West Indies Mona, which allowed his pursuit of a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management Studies through the Faculty of Social Sciences in 2017 during his 5th year as a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

He had one aim in mind during his pursuit at university - not to take a break from school and not to fail any of his modules. Whilst in his 1st semester Kensley received three (3) B’s. Having been out of the education system for a while, this was considered to be one of his most memorable and satisfying moments, notwithstanding the multiple A’s that would follow in the subsequent semesters. As he excelled academically, he also continued to push forward professionally which led to him being promoted to the rank of Corporal in December 2018 after being successful in the JCF’s promotional exams. Work duties started to increase significantly and become more strenuous; however, failure was never an option for him as he continued to push forward.

He attributes his academic success to having a strong family support system with his mother and spouse at the helm, and a dedicated team of classmates that were determined for success, teammates that became family, exceptional lecturers that became life coaches and mentors, loyal friends and co-workers. He intends to pursue a Master of Arts degree in Intelligence and International Security or a Master’s of Science in Computer-Based Management Information Systems. He also intends to continue serving and contributing to the development of his country through his service with the JCF and hopes to one day become an adjunct lecturer at The UWI Mona Campus.