658. Curaçao’s Top Role Model

Committed to continuous learning, Deva is deliberate about seeking inspiring and challenging work. She decided to move back to Curaçao in October 2012 – after living in New York City for 9 years – to embark on her latest adventure, Curaçao Cares, with longtime friend Lysa de Windt (30). Curaçao Cares provides a convenient online portal to connect volunteers with volunteer opportunities and projects all around the island and allows Deva and Lysa to hone entrepreneurial experience as well as honor their beloved country. In Deva’s case, she’s also honoring her mother who raised her on a steady diet of “dinner conversations revolving around community issues (diversity, poverty, education, etc)”. Needless to say, these conversations shaped Deva’s perspective in a profound way.

Deva’s first experience volunteering came in high school when she decided to teach dance (street, folklore, Latin, etc) at her school, Maria Immaculata Lyceum, and at various foster homes. The experience gave Deva the opportunity to share her passion and skills, while gaining quality time with people of all walks of life – people she might not have encountered otherwise. “The real learning came when we’d gather together after dance class… I was always left inspired to do more.” She also credits teaching with helping her develop more effective communication- and time management skills.

Deva stands by the fact that it’s the people she meets while volunteering that make the experiences so transformative, not only what she’s doing or teaching. Deva was particularly inspired by a woman she encountered while teaching male juvenile detainees in Tanzania: a volunteer teacher in her 60s who had suffered an accident that resulted in a prosthetic leg. Rather than victimizing and isolating herself, this woman found a way to harvest her adversity and set out to travel the world and spread her positive perspective. “The kids all looked up to her like a mother… she brought so much of herself to class.” 

Supporting Fundashon Sinta Ros (Breast Cancer Awareness).

Equally transformative, Deva, herself, has benefited from people donating their time and skills in helping her accomplish her goals. While modeling in New York City, she happened to cross paths with a recent Yale University graduate from Saint Lucia, “I told him: I’m a model now, but I’d like to go to school… and I’d like to make it happen in the U.S.,” she says. He offered to help her set up a curriculum to practice the SAT (standardized college admissions test) and tutor her. No small task given that Deva had been out of high school for 3 years. She ended up studying at his house every day for 2 months, while juggling casting calls and part-time jobs. Her hard work paid off: she gained admission to Columbia University, one of the top schools in the world.