CARIMAC - the institution that shaped me

Upon leaving high school I had not yet decided what I wanted to become. For years I was told "Yuh chat nuff, yuh a go tun lawyer"  so I thought about that for a while. The time came for us to apply to University and being one of the few persons not interested in going to do a first degree abroad, I applied locally. Just for the heck of it I applied to law, as my mother said "to keep options open". But I knew I wouldn't get in. I then chose CARIMAC and my 3rd choice was Psychology/Sociology and I also applied to UTECH.

I waited impatiently as the "barely there" mail system  in my community failed day after day, week after week to  furnish me with a letter of acceptance from ... anywhere.As the clock ticked and nobody called me from the CARIMAC office to say I was accepted I began to lose all hope of  gaining a tertiary education. I re-played the test in my head for weeks to ascertain what I had done wrong - why I hadn't gotten a call back.

Then finally the day came, and after orientation it took me a while to actually accept that I was one of the 80 persons (throughout the Caribbean) that sat the test and gained acceptance in the programme. After the initial excitement, fear and nervousness took over. It's a new environment, it's more people, it's more challenging ... it's university.

I shook like a leaf entering the Neville Hall Lecture Theatre that Monday morning to have our first lecture - MC10A. I opened the large doors ... Took a seat in the middle and looked towards the stage... There he was, our lecturer for the next 3 or so months. He looked like what you thought a professor would look like, but his disposition didn't fit the script. He stood smiling behind the podium at the faces of the future.

He made me feel welcome that first day, because when he smiled you had to smile with him and you just knew he had a passion for what he did and he wanted to share his knowledge with others. I looked forward to Monday morning lectures to see Professor Aggrey Brown and to share in his wisdom [more of which will be said later in this post... may his soul rest in peace].

The 8 a.m. Monday lectures were a feature of the CARIMAC programme we all loathed. But we rolled out of bed, and made the effort to make it on time, because those same lectures had pop quizzes or weekly quizzes that contributed to your final grade; Seemingly some sort of scam to make us get to class on time  -  it worked.

The sleepless nights editing audio, video, printed material and designing campaigns were not in vain. The four hour sessions and the mountain of course work did something to us. Those grades we got that were lower than we expected helped us to strive for excellence.

The course-work, though it seemed cruel and inhumane punishment then, was relevant and I am now seeing the value of it. I am able to say "oh, yes we were taught that" and "yes I learnt that at CARIMAC". 

I want to thank CARIMAC  and all of its staff members for making me and my fellow classmates feel at home. No matter what kind of day we were having, no mater how much work was due, when we stepped through those glass doors we felt at home. On those days when you felt you couldn't go on there was always someone to greet you with a smile in the hallway, greet you with a hug or inquire about your well-being.

Everyone had an open door and just enough time to spare if you had an issue. Those days when Jackie saved us from having a complete meltdown, when the engineering staff was beseeched to "fix it now". Those days when Dr. James caught you dancing and singing in the hallway, those days when Ms. Ellington gave a listening ear. Those days when the admin staff went above and beyond to assist you with getting information. Those days when I annoyed Dr. White just so I could get it just right. Those days when we lingered by the CARIMAC tree hours after classes had ended, engaging in meaningful and sometimes not so meaningful conversation.

Those days when we realized that the staff had become our friends. Those days when we realized we were truly a family. The way we stuck together when Patti-Ann passed  is a testament of the above, perhaps it's what caused us to realize we were a family. Her passing affected the whole group but I think we became better people because of it. We realized life was too short and we all made conscious efforts to speak to those we had never cxchanged a word with before. In the words of one of my Trinidadian friends "All'yuh dis is not nuh sad time, right? We celebrating her life, okay?".

I must also thank CARIMAC for teaching me about myself. Those three years  taught me things I hadn't learnt in seven years of high school. I must thank CARIMAC for my open-mind, for teaching me that many different explanations of phenomena exist and we must not be opposed to change. I must thank CARIMAC for three years of my tuition well spent. I must thank CARIMAC for my friends... the wonderful friendships that were forged with persons from all over the Caribbean. These friends who all have ambition and although we sat beneath the tree and it looked as if we were wasting time we knew what was expected of us, as one of my classmates said "hot gyal cya fail foundation course, oh". I thank CARIMAC for introducing me to the intelligent, ambitious, determined, wonderful people I can now call my life-long friends.

Thanks.

Now to my professor ...

He taught us all to think. The lecture theatre is a huge room and he found the time to speak to each section of the packed class. He actually made me know some of my fellow classmates who had passed me for weeks and I had not noticed them ... but he had, and he wanted them to be a part of the discussion.

In the hot summer months Professor Brown could be seen strolling (rather, speed-walking) in the Humanities Courtyard in what we called his christmas shirts. We quietly nicknamed him Santa, (pardon me as a I say the most cliche', but true, statement)  and he was indeed -  he came bearing knowledge. Giving us gifts that would stay with us forever, like the meaning of commmunication, big h and little h, objectivity and fairness, and we could go on and on.

Some classes felt like philosophy lessons but he was always able to relate these messages to the media.

I thought him immortal, as he strolled through CARIMAC in more recent times in dashiki garb and bush jackets, not remembering the name but smiling as he recognized the face. 

I really could go on and on about his impact on my life, but there is no need because we all know his contribution was great and his reach was wide. I end with the words of his wife in her speech at his thanksgiving service "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it".

Selah.