February's Caribbean Excellence Ambassador: Deveny Skylar

Every month, we at EmpowerU would like to highlight one of many amazing Caribbean students displaying excellence in the region or abroad. This month we are highlighting Sint Maarten’s very own Deveny Skylar.

To learn more about Deveny Skylar and her amazing accomplishments, check out our interview with her below.

Name: Deveny Skylar

Island: Sint Maarten

Bio: I am a writer/fashion designer and I photograph and create visuals based on my poems.

Personal Mission: My personal mission is to start selling clothes that are made for comfort and to encourage the idea and feeling of being more open and honest through my work.

Career Field: I have been designing for maybe 4 years now and I can’t quite remember when I started writing. I fell in love with fashion design because my grandmother is a fashion designer herself. I grew up watching her sew and my grandfather write. His poems inspired me to work with that expression as well.

What inspires you: Change. The way our environment changes, whether it’s nature, our home, relationships, etc. The feeling of constantly adapting has been encouraging and inspiring.

Who has been your role model and why: I’d say it’s a variety of people, but three that come to mind are @beautyspock for her make and visuals. @itscameronhyman for his photography and mind. @saintrecords for her honesty and music.

Accomplishments: Well my personal accomplishment is that I’ve found comfort in the discomfort of honesty. That’s the best accomplishment in my book.

What obstacles have you faced as you worked to accomplish your goals? How did you overcome them?

I have faced some dislike from others for how I choose to share my work. I don’t share the negative comments I do receive but those comments have been helpful, I chose to see it that way. Take everything with a grain of sand.

Next steps:

I WILL be selling clothing I create this year, and it fills my heart to say so.

Advice for others:

Fall in love with your ideas, yourself, and your work before you share it.

Know someone you believe is doing amazing things and deserves to be highlighted (it can even be YOU), fill out our survey Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @ empoweru.carib and check out our website @empoweru.online