Krishon Walker
Thomson Leadership &
Innovation Award
University of Ottawa
Masters Degree
Major/Field of Study: Business Administration in Managerial Consulting
Amount Awarded: $27,000
Krishon Walker is a first in family college student pursuing a Master of Business Administration at the University of Ottawa. He is a previous gradate from the University of The Bahamas and a gradate of The Government High School in Nassau Bahamas. He was an active participant in many projects including The Bahamas Urban Renewal Programme; The Bahamas Anti-Doping Commission and a project for a Sustainable Exuma through the University of The Bahamas. He has previously worked with the Department of Local Government and as a Researcher at the University of The Bahamas.
“Having spent the last few years working with various organizations including conducting research with the University of The Bahamas, consultation with the Government of The Bahamas’ Department of Local Government and a post-graduate placement with the City of Ottawa, I have gained a deeper understanding of how the livability of a city - that is its economic vitality, its social cohesion and the health and well-being of its residents - depends upon a sustainable built environment. During this time, I acquired an appreciation of the considerations for development in both urban environments, such as Nassau and Grand Bahama, and rural areas, such as the more remote Family Islands, which allowed me to understand the different approaches to development that’s required depending on the economic, social, and environmental contexts. Because of this, I’ve grown markedly more interested in economic development, but specifically the range of interconnected factors that influences a city’s economic sustainability and growth and how this can be used to build thriving and sustainable communities.
Having obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration from the College of The Bahamas, a Master of Planning from Queen’s University and becoming certified as a Project Management Professional, and after extensive research and consulting with various professionals in the field, it is abundantly clear that the next logical step to obtain my career goals is to pursue a Master of Business Administration. This would enable me to develop the skillset necessary to be a proficient professional in the field of managerial consulting and economic development.
I feel strongly that as a proud citizen of The Bahamas with an understanding of how humans interact with the built environment and how the development of a sustainable built environment can lead to economic prosperity and thus a thriving society, it is incumbent upon me to all that I can and work with the Government of the Bahamas and other organizations to achieve this goal. During my undergraduate studies at that the College of The Bahamas and work with Harvard University on the island of Exuma, I became passionate about the way the local government system works and equally frustrated with the ineffectiveness of that system. It was then that I vowed to work with the Department of Local Government to improve that system, which could allow for individual islands to tap into their fullest potential, i.e., diversify their local economies and capitalize on existing opportunities, and see the investment that they both deserve and need in order to promote thriving communities which would in turn translate into a thriving Bahamas. A vibrant economy would make way for the infrastructure improvements that many of the islands so desperately need, which would mean that they could offer services to residents that they may not be able to today because of aging facilities and perhaps incentive others to relocate to those islands and reduce the population density on Nassau. Moreover, with improved infrastructure, they could attract more tourist and grow their GDP, further strengthening the economy.”