Lorraine Samuel-Vocational Service Awardee

Lorraine Samuel was born on October 22, 1953 and is the mother of 2 sons and a daughter.  She grew up in the village of Cedar Grove and attended the St. James Primary School now known as the Cedar Grove Primary School.  From Cedar Grove Primary Ms. Samuel went on to complete her secondary education at the Princess Margaret Secondary School.

 

Ms. Samuel always wanted to be a teacher and knew that from the age of 10 when she unofficially employed herself as a teacher of the trees in her backyard and gave regular lessons to them on a daily basis especially during vacation times.  Her mom recognizing her talent, engaged her as a teacher to teach her younger siblings.  Each day after school and during vacations, she would dress like her Head Mistress (black hovel skirt and white shirt) and went to teach her students-her siblings.  But guess what, she was paid ….yes she was paid .25 cents each week. 

 

 Lorraine always had the desire for higher education and wanted to attend the University of the West Indies, but due to financial constraints she could not.  It was then she opted to teach to become financially independent.

 

Her teaching career began on October 9, 1972 in her native village Cedar Grove.  After 2 years of teaching she was selected to attend the Leeward Islands Teachers College where she obtained the first stage in her professional journey.

 

Upon graduation, she returned to Cedar Grove Primary where she taught students from Kindergarten to Grade 9. 

Her professional training permitted her to teach in Montserrat, Anguilla and Barbados.

           
She enjoys teaching and it is no wonder she kept it up for 43 years, 33 of which she gave to the civil service. 

 

She attributes her unbroken service to the influence of her fist Head Teacher, the late Mrs. Miriam Oliver.  Ms Samuel and her Head Teacher shared a bond.  Mrs. Oliver loved her and she adored Mrs. Oliver.  In Ms. Samuel’s own words she said..’This is the same relationship I endeavour to create between myself and each student – genuine love and interest not only academically but socially’.

 

For Lorraine, her initial professional training at the Leeward Islands Teachers College was just the beginning.  Knowledge is power and she wanted to empower herself  so  she enrolled in 2 Distance Learning Education Programs with UWI:

Reading (Cave Hill)

Health and Family Life Education (Mona)

In 1992 she pursued a Bachelor of Education Degree on Campus at Cave Hill Barbados.  Upon graduation, Ms Samuel returned to Antigua to continue her teaching career.  A few years later, she received the local In-house  Ministry of Education training to be a Principal of Primary Schools.

 

She also lectured at the Antigua State College and was  Deputy Principal at T N Kirnon School.  In 2006 as Principal of the New Field Primary School Ms. Samuel accepted the Government’s voluntary severance package.

 

Retiring from the Government Service did not mean retiring from teaching,  Ms. Samuel recognized a community needs people who can step up to the plate and offer voluntary service where it is needed, for as long as it is needed:  And by January 2007 Ms. Samuel established Foundations of Faith Tutorial at her home.  

This institution she stated was set up to help students, especially boys who would have ‘fallen through the crack’ for lack of  an experienced tutor.  So far, each year a set of boys who would not have make it just because they were slow have entered various secondary schools and are doing well.

 

Prior to establishing Foundations of Faith:  In 1996 she established K&L pre-school which is now Little Diamonds.

 

Ms Samuel seems to be always on the go, not knowing what a vacation is was totally dedicated to her vocation.  During the summer vacations, she gave 10 unbroken years of service to the Gender Affairs Annual Summer Reading Camp and 10 years to the Adult Literacy Programs.  

The Summer School kept the children profitably engaged while many ladies used the literacy classes to facilitate their upward mobility in the work place.  She also offered her service to Project Hope and Hope Institute in their evening and after school programs.

She enjoys reading, sewing and gardening.

 

Ms. Samuel has embodied the ideals of Rotary and have for 43 years demonstrated the Motto of Rotary’s ‘Service Above Self’ in her Vocation of Teaching.