Flair | Raising the ‘Roofe’

No shortcuts were taken on Carmel Roofe’s journey to her present titles of director of the School of Education and professor of curriculum studies at The University of the West Indies, Mona campus.

Describing herself as a “late bloomer”, Roofe did not pass the then-Common Entrance Examination while attending Barton’s Primary School. “I knew the moment your name did not come in the newspaper among those who passed the Common Entrance, you already carried the lesser-than label. I had several people in my community whose names came in the paper, and so it was a celebration. You were not celebrated otherwise,” she told Flair.

She also remembers the stigma associated with attending a non-traditional high school after moving on to attend Old Harbour Secondary School.

“I remember the stigma and perception surrounding Old Harbour because at the time, there was more prestige in the traditional high school versus those which were secondary or junior secondary,” Roofe reflected on her youth in the rural community of Bamboo Ridge, St Catherine.

Raised by her farmer father, Daniel Roofe, and market vendor mother, Nona, alongside four siblings, she reminisced about having a wonderful childhood. “My parents did not have a secondary education, but despite this, they were able to own property for themselves and ensured that we all went to school.”

An adolescent Carmel, unsure of what she was going to do, was encouraged in high school to pursue higher education by a teacher, Miss Ingram.

She enrolled at Shortwood Teachers’ College to study home economics and, upon completing teachers’ college, taught home economics at Denham Town High School for 11 years.

She went to the Vocational Development Training Institute (VDTI), where she was involved in national training development across the island. In between, she did a second degree at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) in food and nutrition, and would transition from VDTI to UTech, where she landed in the education department within the Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies.

While at UTech as the faculty research coordinator, she did a Master of Philosophy in curriculum development at UWI and made a switcheroo to the institution in December 2015 and was hired as a lecturer in curriculum and instruction in the School of Education. More than 10 years into the job, she remains as excited today as she always has been about effecting change.

The 54-year-old Roofe, who rests on her Baptist faith as the constant source of her success, is also a proud mama. Her 21-year-old daughter, Kaylian Bowen, attends UWI and is set to complete her final semester in the Faculty of Medical Sciences this academic year.

“She is a wonderful human and has lived this journey with me from when she started high school, to me coming to UWI, because being here has been research-intensive.”

The professor, who is a published author of five books, has built a solid network of international connections. “I have worked with colleagues in Malta, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Canada, England, various states in America, and a number of Caribbean countries.”

Unwinding from her high-pressure work often involves frequent nature walks, drives to the country, and watching romantic comedies and biographies.

When Kaylian was younger, the parent remembered, “I would find recreational activities to complement whatever she was doing. I learnt to swim because I had to take her to swimming classes.”

“I love to travel and [see] new places,” she added. “When I was on sabbatical, I went to Latvia two years ago and absolutely loved it. I am yearning to go back to different places in Europe.”

As to what’s on her vision board with her new professorial appointment, she told Flair, “Looking at where I have come [from] to get here, one of my biggest goals is to see how best I can [contribute] to the development of others to get here or surpass here.”