SUNDAY 3 MARCH 2019 – UWI TODAY
19
OUR STUDENTS
When he enters the UWI Today office for his interview
Kheston Walkins says a strange thing. I ask him how he’s
doing today. He responds, “I’m happy.”
It’s jarring to hear. There’s an appropriate answer to
such a question - not too enthusiastic, not too open and
not too honest. But Walkins is far more concerned about
what is right thanwhat is appropriate. It’s one of the secrets
to his astounding success. At just 30-years-old, this post
residency medical student from The UWI’s Faculty of
Medical Sciences (FMS) is an internationally celebrated
researcher, innovator and entrepreneur.
Born and raised in Chaguanas. He is a PhD candidate
in molecular genetics and has been working on cancer
detection technology under the supervision of Senior
Lecturer at FMS Dr Melford John. Kheston has developed
and brought to market several innovative products and
services.
But perhaps most fascinating of all is where he has
directed his enormous creative energies - mental health.
“It’s neuro-innovation,” he explains. Kheston and his
partner Yohance Ayodike created a company in 2018 called
Allegori that fuses neuroscience (the study of the brain and
nervous system) with therapeutic counselling. Among the
services they offer is “MindArt” an almost supernatural
blending of technology and therapy to create abstract
art. Participants are asked to tell an emotionally potent
story while a headset generates electroencephalogram
(EEG) patterns from their brain patterns. The patterns
are printed on canvas, creating surreal works spawned
from human experience. Thousands of pieces have been
created through MindArt.
Kheston says MindArt sessions “became events”
and “strange kinds of group therapies”. “They would talk
about experiences that made them cry in front of people
and they were fine with it,” he says. “Afterwards they tell
us that MindArt is one of the best experiences they have
had in their lives.”
Kheston knows well the importance of the kind
healing that therapeutic intervention can provide. He
was on campus for Internationalisation Week or
iWeek
,
an event hosted by The UWI St Augustine’s International
B Y J O E L H E N R Y
Kheston speaking at the Global Citizenship Dialogue for
iWeek 2019
.
PHOTO: COURTESY INTERNATIONAL OFFICE
Beautiful Minds
Kheston Walkins brings innovation to mental healing, for others and himself
Office. Allegori demonstrated MindArt at the iWeek
Technology Display and he was the featured guest at their
Global Citizenship Dialogue. His topics include innovative
and entrepreneurial thinking, internationalism, and
technology.
“I love the idea of encouraging students or just people
in general so that they can do the things that they want to
do,” he says.
But what was unexpected was how open he was
about his own emotional struggles and the importance of
dealing with them to lead a successful life. In fact it was
his experience with depression that led to the creation of
Allegori.
He had been riding high, having developed an app
and cloud-based database in 2016 called “Communicare”
that was receiving major international recognition. That
same year he attended the Young Leaders of the America’s
Initiative hosted by the US State Department and was one
of only 14 people invited to participate in the Demand
Solutions entrepreneurship expo in Argentina, an Inter-
American Development Bank funded event. But he hit a
roadblock.
“We got lots of money to develop (Communicare) and
sell it, but it just wasn’t sticking,” he said. “The even harder
part was that all the money that I had was dwindling. I went
into a depressive phase and sought therapy.”
The therapist, in fact, was Ayodike, who would
eventually partner with him to form Allegori.
“I would say to students, ‘get help’. Get qualified help
once you can afford it. I don’t think we take our mental
wellbeing seriously.”
In fact, Kheston sees mental health as an asset for
innovation and entrepreneurship:
“Fear, guilt and shame - we need to throw them away.
That is the vice grip of Trinidad culture. It starts at home,” he
says, adding that it is important for young entrepreneurs to
“know that you will fail but you are failing forward. Living
with fear, guilt and shame is paralysis. You will never be able
to move forward if you don’t have that self-management.”
He has moved forward with a vengeance. Since creating
Allegori, Ayodike and Walkins have made considerable
strides in establishing a neuro-innovation business, one
he calls the first of its kind in the Caribbean. Apart from
MindArt, Allegori use their blend of therapy and EEG
technology to treat clients with mental health issues. Most
recently they have branched over to “neuro training” in areas
such as focus through their Focus Clinic.
The business is doing very well:
“We were profitable in two months and doubled
our revenue every month after that,” he says. And more
importantly, their neuro-innovation is working. “One client
was getting panic attacks for 11 years, 7 panic attacks a day.
Within three sessions she was getting one panic attack every
three days. By the end of the programme (six sessions) she
had zero panic attacks. To this day she has no panic attacks.”
Apart from creativity and self-expression, healing is a
surprisingly consistent theme in Kheston’s words and ideas.
Like neuroscience and psychology, creative dynamism and
compassion make a good combination.
“I don’t really do things for the accolades but the
accolades feel good,” he says. “I like creating something
that doesn’t exist and doing it well. My focus is on making
people’s lives easier or more enjoyable.”
“It is important
for young
entrepreneurs to
know that you will
fail but you are
failing forward.
Living with fear,
guilt and shame is
paralysis. You will
never be able to
move forward if
you don’t have that
self-management.”
