Tarick Walton Won’t Let Anything Dampen His Dreams

Growing up in Spanish Town, Jamaica, Tarick Walton knew he was destined for greatness — and he was right. Throughout his journey, Walton never forgot to give back and help others around him achieve their own version of greatness. In his new book, Secrets from MIT, Tennis and the Umpire Above: 10 Lessons From A Poor Jamaican Boy Who Never Gave Up On The Court, Walton details his life journey from Jamaica to America, how tennis helped change his life and his 10 “secret life lessons” to help anyone, regardless of who or where they are, find their true calling.

Walton’s hometown of Spanish Town, Jamaica was not always the easiest place to grow up. Even so, it helped him shape what he wanted his dream life to look like.

Tarick Walton. Courtesy photo

“It shaped my personal motto on life. It motivated me to never allow the world to dampen my dreams. The reason why I say that is that I grew up in an environment that was violent, a lot of social unrest. There were not a lot of resources and it was a poor community,” Walton explained. “I remember, as I was growing up, I would talk with friends and they would always tell me these big dreams. They wanted a nice, flashy car and wanted to own 10 homes. But what I realized was that all of those dreams were physical. It struck me back then at eight growing up that I saw the correlation between dreams with a physical target — and I saw the result of poverty. It shaped my outlook to pursue talents and things that don’t have a financial value but rather a personal and deep value that can influence a life. From there, I saw education as my only channel for achieving those goals. It was at that moment that I said, ‘Whatever you want in life, you're going to go for it. You're never going to allow the world to dampen those dreams.”

While exploring talents that could help him achieve his goal of education, Walton found tennis as an outlet. While it is uncommon in his community to play the sport, Walton has been able to learn and apply real-life lessons from his time on the court.

“On the first element of my educational journey, I went to Campion College High School in Kingston, Jamaica. They were one of less than five schools in the country that had tennis courts as a high school. From the first time I saw that, I was blown away. I would always watch tennis on the television but to see it in person at the young age of 12 years old is when I fell in love with tennis,” Walton said. “Tennis is one of those sports where there are no teammates to pass to. It has the longest season of any sport. It's a single player sport with no coaching, so you have to figure it out on your own. With tennis, you can have this long season and there are times where you are down. Yet, it’s the mentality to keep on trying, playing and eventually winning. I think that's what drew me and connected me to tennis — That real world component.”

Working his way out of hardship in Jamaica, Walton attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and earned a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. After graduating, he continued his education at Georgetown University and went on to co-found The Walton and Friends Foundation, a non-profit that helps children explore STEAM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Arts and Math) education through leaders of industries across the nation.

“The reason why I promote the arts as well as STEM is because the arts have been a part of my entire life growing up in Jamaica. I've always been involved in music, whether it was performing in choir or singing at a music event, and I was also very involved with STEM,” Walton expounded. Walton’s personal connection of the arts and STEM deeply influenced his life, including the logo for his book that includes a “yin and yang” reference. “I see STEM plus the arts as yin and yang. I think it is extremely important to understand the balance between two competing perspectives. When I think of STEM, I see mechanical, structured and technical ways of looking at problems. But when you look at the arts, you see a more fluid approach. It's that combined perspective that has always been a part of my life. I really see the power and importance of balancing the two,” he added.

This combined perspective influenced his upcoming book, where Walton is able to discuss the life lessons that have led him to where he is today. He hopes that others can read about his story and know that they can take over the world on their own.

“With all of the chaos going on in this world, we can offer service of value to others. That's the reason why I wrote this book,” Walton expressed. “It’s understanding who you are and finding that fire inside of you. We all have that fire inside of us. The purpose of writing this book was to encourage others to appreciate that fire and go for those dreams in pursuit of that fire inside.”