Have you met Remonia, interim graduate ombudsperson? Spend a few minutes getting to know her a little better!
What is your first U of A memory?
Trying to get to campus on the first day I arrived. I took the LRT and missed the university stop. It took me a little while to figure out how to get back to campus.
What’s something your coworkers don’t know about you?
When I was growing up, I won a race at school and so I decided that I wanted to become a runner. I also wanted to become a teacher, so in my young mind, I merged the two together and told people I wanted to become a running teacher. I became a teacher, but sadly the running part did not work out.
What’s your favourite distraction?
Singing. I love to sing, as it helps me to forget the difficulties and the cares that come with life. I particularly like gospel praise and worship; singing those songs makes me feel content and happy.
If you were enrolling in one course, program or degree right now, what would it be?
Right now, I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Secondary Education focusing on teacher education. But if there is one course that I would want to enroll in, it would either be a paleontology course — so I can converse with my son who is fascinated with dinosaurs — or a zoology course to keep up with his fascination with animals and the Kratts Brothers’ series.
What’s a weird pet peeve you have?
I am always feeling something underneath my feet even when no one else is. It annoys my kids, especially when they have swept and vacuumed and I can still feel it. They usually just hand me a slipper.
You can invite anyone — alive or dead, real or fictional — to dinner. Who would it be?
As a Black woman, I am always encouraged to learn about Black women of old who sacrificed much to ensure our freedom and our rights, as it is a reminder that we have to continue that work. In my home country, Jamaica, we have a national heroine, Nanny of the Maroons, who led the runaway slaves to build a community in the hills of Jamaica. She was integral in defeating the colonial soldiers who tried to invade their community on many occasions to return them to slavery. There are many legends about how she did it, so I would love to have her to dinner to hear the account first hand.
If you could see any live performance tomorrow, what would it be?
I would love to be at a circus show such as the ones in the Greatest Showman.
What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
To continue smiling and continue being hopeful, but to also be gentle with herself, to let go of past mistakes and to forgive herself more quickly.
What’s one thing you can’t live without?
Family and friends. I believe that as human beings, the Creator did not make us to be alone. We were made to walk with one another and experience life together.
What three words describe your U of A experience?
Diverse, challenged, involved.
About Remonia