Knowing Your Value: A Story on Drew K. Curry

“It all started after I dropped out of college…”, Drew began. An unexpected response when asked about her background. Her square frames and curly hair resembled the profile of a Spellman graduate. Her voice articulated a woman filled with intelligence, vigor and an expanded worldview. For many people, going to college is where adult life begins, leading one to attain the quintessential ‘Bahamian dream.’ But the idea of having a degree to succeed was just one of many rules that Drew Khriston Curry courageously defied.

It was not easy ejecting from her Tourism & Hospitality Management studies at The University of The Bahamas. Drew later worked at the famous Checkers Café, where she made only $4.50 an hour. In those days, she dreamed of designing nails for a living but says “... people around me would always say that nail techs don’t make money.” This was just another obstacle Drew had to overcome. But something transformational happened when she decided to take a trip to Black Point, Exuma. “On that trip, I went on a yacht and for the first time I believed my life could look like this.” Leaving Exuma with a renewed mindset, Drew finally quit her job to study nail art full-time, going from making $180 a week to sometimes $300 a day.

Coaching found Drew during her career as a nail artist. When she was not teaching classes or workshops, she found that her chair would be therapy sessions for her clients. “A lot of the women that came to me were dressed up but so broken… many women were depressed and just needed guidance.” Her client relationships evolved into mentoring, where she would host events like vision board parties to encourage women towards their own dreams. Where there was no community, she built it, one client at a time. Drew realized her coaching gift after her persistence with one of her clients that worked as a bartender. Drew tells this story, “She always aspired to work in dentistry but never believed she would be hired. After pushing her, during our nail session, she finally sent her resume to a few offices. One day, she called me crying, thanking me because she just got hired.”

While these little moments brought joy to Drew, the career path eventually started to weigh on her. As if there was an emptiness in her soul that she didn’t realize was there. “After 6 years of doing nails, I started to get depressed. I would reject people. I even moved to Miami for a change of scenery but nothing helped.” Feeling lost and unhappy in her profession, Drew closed her nail studio in 2020 and moved to Nepal for a year. Being the only black person there, it was a culture shock for Drew. But there, she found richness in family, community and spirituality. The time away gave her the space to reflect on her future, present and past.

Drew grew up a shy and quiet girl in Coconut Grove, Nassau. Like many little girls, she was taught that ‘girls should be seen and not heard.’ Despite this, Drew found her voice through teaching and play.

“When I was younger, I would always remember taking all the neighborhood kids upstairs in our complex to help them with their schoolwork.” During her time in Nepal, a venture that not many people would embark on alone, it dawned on Drew that her natural gifts of coaching, mentoring and teaching was the path that brought her true fulfillment.

However, finding one’s life purpose doesn’t come without its challenges. Being in her late 20’s – where many of her colleagues are over the age of 40 – Drew has been met with skepticism from others. Often, people would question, “How could you help me? What do you have to give to me?” Her age, gathered with the lack of follow-through from clients and verbal bashing that often comes with being a coach have all been struggles. “I learned that you might have the medicine that people need but if people don’t know they have a disease, they will suffer.” In reality, for Drew, the path of guiding or teaching is one that every client must be ready to embark on and readily value.

From quitting college, to now speaking at international conferences in front of hundreds of professionals and academics, Drew has mastered the art of believing in one’s value. While reflecting on her journey, each moment seems to be an opportunity where she dares herself to take higher leaps, bet higher stakes.

“In the right rooms, people see your value. So, your job is to place yourself in the right rooms.” This idea sparked her to invest in global communities that challenged her – rooms filled with millionaire women from different backgrounds in life. Drew quickly learned the benefit of making yourself uncomfortable so that you can grow.

“They realized when I opened my mouth, value came out.” While Drew is on a mission to guide as many women as she can, she overstates the importance of expanding your social capital. By exposing herself to different cultures, different professions and different spaces, her best advice is that: it is not ourselves that we have to change, but it is our environment and the people surrounding us.

Bio: Drew K. Curry is a Goal-Setting Strategist who’s obsessed with helping ambitious women of faith and entrepreneurs clarify their life vision, goals & dreams to access the life they truly desire

Author’s name: Tanicia Pratt