Sarah Holder is a 22-year-old with big dreams and aspirations and one who has lived a life of volunteerism from her teenaged years.
From her primary school days, she had been setting trends that her fellow schoolmates had not even thought about. What primary school child, for instance, would be found selling marbles and hair-bows – the latter of which she hand-made – at such a young age? That child could be none other than Sarah, who today has her own business – Tronita Threads – which sees her specialising in the making of draw-string satin bonnets, which are very much in demand; hair accessories and tote bags. But there is more to this Ellerton, St George resident and former student of The Lawrence T. Gay and The Alleyne schools.
She currently holds the position of prime minister in Barbados’ Youth Parliament and is mere months away from completing her bachelor’s degree in social work at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus.
Sitting down to talk with the Weekend Nation, the fashionable Sarah exuded the confidence of a well-rounded young woman set to make her mark in many fields – fashion, the arts, social work, helping the elderly and less fortunate, empowering and mentoring young people and of course, in politics.
Generally, she wants to see people live better lives and make the world a better place, through her lenses.
“I particularly want to help disadvantaged people transition from one stage of their lives to another. Social work – which I am studying – is a hand-holding profession. You are helping people through their life transition process – that of going from one stage to another. You are giving them the tools to help them grow and you watch them fly.
“Essentially, I am trying even now, to find ways to become an advocate for the less fortunate and social work involves quite a lot of what I like. There are even various roles that I like in the Barbados Youth Parliament. I get to help those around me, and since I believe in mentorship – having had many mentors myself – both at primary, secondary schools, and of course at home in the form of my parents – I want to mentor others.”
The former senior prefect at The Alleyne School admitted that she has come a long way from being a “mouthy student” who first thought of becoming a pastry chef until a summer job at a local bakery, at the age of 15, changed that trajectory.
“I realised it was not for me, and since I was creative, I decided to stick to the arts.”
Sarah would go on to secure Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) passes in art, textiles, theatre arts, clothing and textiles – among others. It was also while at school that one of her teachers felt that since she was “so mouthy”, she should be signed up for the Sunjet Toastmasters Youth Leadership Programme and join the school’s debating club.”
“That totally changed me,” she shared.
When she became part of the team that won a leading debating competition against The St Michael School in 2017, Sarah was ecstatic, and this win solidified her quest to go even further.
“It felt good. It was my first time on the debating stage at such a high level, and it became a turning point for me. I found that debating was something that I loved,” the young entrepreneur stated.
In retrospect, Sarah saw her leadership skills.
It was after leaving school that she started her own business in 2021. She also enrolled at the Barbados Community College (BCC) to study either theatre arts or law and sociology.
“I registered for both but chose law and sociology. I later found that I really enjoyed sociology and the different world perspectives that come with this line of study. While law cases were intriguing, I knew I did not want to become a lawyer.”
Upon earning her associate degree in law and sociology, Sarah, the eldest of her parents’ three children, went on to choose social work as her first full degree.
Always willing to offer herself for a good cause, Sarah’s years in volunteerism started when she was 15. Around this time the Barbados Youth Development Council hosted many events, including the Hues of Youth showcase. This proved to be another turning point in Sarah’s life.
“At this event, I observed how young people engaged each other. There was a group there called United Youth Leaders of Barbados. The girls sold the idea to join the group to me and I joined it. It was a group which gave young people the skills to project plan, so you led your own projects which, included clean-ups, survival day events and gave me the opportunity to help feed the homeless.”
Sarah eventually climbed her way to the executive level and became president of the youth group, before COVID-19 put a stop to their activities.
That same year, she joined the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Youth Parliament. She first held the position of independent senator, before her appointment to prime minister in January 2024.
She told the Weekend Nation, “Youth parliament taught me to take debating more seriously, to better plan, carry out research, write resolutions, and how to empower the team I led. I would often stay up late at night helping persons with speeches, research, and spent a lot of time encouraging members – both on the opposition and government sides.”
Looking ahead, Sarah, who loves video editing, and even copped a medal during the 2019 National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) video arts competition, has lots of plans. Included among these are plans to continue work with Memory Cafe (Barbados), a charity under the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus social work programme which is focused on creating safe spaces for people living with dementia and their caregivers. She also wants to help persons living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and is focused on youth development through her own initiative, The Note Project.
Sarah simply wants to serve, help others, and make the world a better place for all and sundry. (CH)
