16
17
W
hen one thinks of furthering
their education, changing
careers, losing a loved one or
migrating, instantly there is a feeling
of apprehension for the unknown.
Imagine experiencing all of the above
at a time when society thinks you
probably should be preparing for a
rocking chair.
Jennifer grew up in a large family in
Tacarigua, born in 1952 as the last
of nine children. Her mother was a
homemaker, and her father, a strong
believer in academia. He started his
career as a teacher, then made history
by becoming Trinidad’s youngest
Headmaster at the age of twenty-three,
he then moved on to become an
Inspector of Schools .
From early childhood Jennifer always
had a deep respect and sensitivity
towards the elderly. She credits this to
the precious time spent with her Bajan
maternal grandmother, with whom
she shared a special bond. Many
afternoons she recalls sitting at her
grandmother’s feet listening to stories
about years gone.This interaction,
unknowingly at the time, showed
the future Director of the Division of
Ageing insights into the one tooth,
silver haired-wrinkled life of an elder.
She attended Ms. Elsie Griffith
kindergarten, Bishop’s Junior at age
5, then Bishop’s Girls High Primary
School until the age of nineteen. Two
weeks after leaving high school in
1971, she accepted the first job offered
to her at LIAT Airlines as an Accounts
Clerk. And for the next couple
decades, it would appear that she was
destined to be in the accounting field.
on January 5th 1976, young Jennifer
started at BWIA as an Accounts Clerk
at Piarco Airport. In 1986, she was
moved into the Provident Fund Section
as the Pension Officer, which required
direct interaction with pre-retirement
employees where she provided both
financial and psychological advice.
Her life changed drastically, during
the carnival season of 1995, when
her partner of twenty-three (23) years,
committed suicide at the age of forty
one (41). Today, there are still no
answers, but months before his suicide,
Gregory was retrenched and showed
signs of depression.
His death was a wakeup call. Her life
was shattered, and she needed change.
She took one month leave from BWIA
to deal with her grief, and then in June
1995, Jenny accepted the Voluntary
Separation of Employment Programme
(VSEP).
She had no plans and was still in
mourning, but with the realization
that life was precious and short ,
she decided to distract herself with
education. At that time, computers
were now being introduced into BWIA
and Jenny had never even touched
one. So she pursued a Word Processor
course, along with Behavioral
Psychology classes.
Gregory’s sister, Joanne (with whom
she was very close) lived in North
Carolina and she encouraged Jenny to
come stay with her and her husband
Bill. Jenny took the plunged, signed
up for the Scholastic Aptitude Test
(SATs) which is a standardized test
widely used for college admissions in
the United States, and scored 1100 out
of 1600.
She was accepted into Cape Fear
Community College, and in December
of the same year of Gregory’s demise,
she sold everything and headed for a
new life as a forty three (43) year old
full time student .
A few months later, she called
Gregory’s aunt in Trinidad, Grace
Aguiton. After chatting for a bit, Grace
said she had a house-guest, Trinidadian
Professor Dr Acklyn Lynch, who
worked at the University of Maryland.
Professor Lynch “met” Jenny on the
phone and advised that she should
have applied to a University instead of
a Community College.
Not knowing too many persons in
the USA, she applied to the same
University of Maryland. In June 1996,
she returned to Trinidad to visit her
family to share the good news that she
was accepted. As a past employee of
BWIA, she was entitled to ten years free
travel, (paying just USD$10 for a flight)
so she was able to visit home regularly.
During this trip, she visited her old
BWIA workplace, and expressed
some fear of not knowing anyone in
Maryland. As fate will have it, she was
told that a former colleague, David
Chevalie now lived in Maryland with
his wife. Her sister Sybil, also had one
school friend named Cynthia Gibbons,
(whom Jenny never met) in Maryland.
Leaving the safety nest of Joanne and
Bill (her husband) was daunting, but
resilient Jenny bought a USD$900
second hand car, loaded it up with
her things to set off for Maryland.
With no place to stay, she called
her sister’s friend Cynthia, and after
phone introductions, with true Trini
hospitality she was offered a room. A
few days later in Maryland, one call to
her former colleague Chevalier opened
another door of genuine hospitality
where she was welcomed by him and
his wife.
By August, a studio apartment was
found and she was ready for University.
Jennifer was funding her own
education from her VSEP and savings
and so needed to budget carefully. In
one instance, she recalled winning
a USD$1,000 prize for the Highest
Achiever in Africana Studies. And
towards the end of her final semester,
she returned to Trinidad, with almost
empty pockets. Casually strolling
down Frederick Street in the City
Capital, she saw her insurance agent
who advised that it was possible to take
a loan on her own insurance policy if
she needed ready cash.
With little distractions and total
determination, Jenny was able to
complete her 4 year degree in 2
years by doing extra credits during
the vacation periods. She attained a
Bachelorette Degree Cum Laude with
Double Major in Africana Studies and
Social Works.
At this point, she thought she had
accomplished what she has set out
to do and was ready to return home,
however her Professors wanted her to
pursue a Masters Degree. However,
there was no way she could fund her
education. She was guided to apply for
an assistantship (a paid academic
appointment made to a
graduate student that
involves part-time
teaching or
research) and
she was
accepted, this paid all her student
tuition and living expenses and she
started her Masters in 1998.
She was always daddy’s favorite,
and he was extremely proud of her
academia since he lived for knowledge.
Her mom had passed in 1992, and in
1999, daddy Ivan Rouse was ailing at
Gordon’s Home. She came home to
visit him one last time, and though he
was weak, his mind was very much still
intact as he handed her a proverbial
baton by saying “he is now the student
and she is the teacher”. This meant the
world to her.
In a rare move, because her grades
were so excellent, she was exempted
from doing her final exams, and in
2001, she graduated with a Masters
Degree in Policy Sciences with Aging
Issues. Her Dean was now encouraging
her to do a Phd, she followed
his guidance, extended her
assistantship and was so able
to get the necessary funding
to pursue her Doctorate.
In 2003, the position for
a Director of the Division
of Ageing (T&T) was
advertised and she applied,
a few months later she was
offered the job, and returned
to Trinidad while still
completing her dissertation
on “ A Policy for Aging
in Trinidad and
Tobago”.
Starting Over
On August 15th 2003, the Division of
Ageing in T&T was established with
just one employee – The Director- Dr.
Jennifer Rouse.
Dr. Rouse graduated with a PhD in
2004, at the age of fifty one (51),
proving that age is just a number,
and that only YOU can be your own
limitation. She believes that hindering
persons fifty and over from receiving
an education through the GATE funded
programme is contrary to the Equal
Opportunity Act, and that “education
can never be quantified in a dollar
value in a world where work is not age
based but skilled based.”
after Fifty !
By Michelle J. Nunes
Photos: Kern Williams
