9 minute read
‘Move Forward’
Alumna Primrose Cameron’s own personal journey hasn’t always been smooth, but she continues to make a difference in the lives of others, particularly the most vulnerable.
BY MICHAEL CANDELARIA
Primrose Cameron ’02
Primrose Cameron ’02 self-published her first book in 2018, titled “Princess Primrose
Goes to Washington DC,” about a young girl who blossoms with love and care.
It’s an engaging tale that promotes family togetherness, kindness and patience. Similarly, her second book, “Princess
Primrose goes to Jamaica,” was self-published in 2020.
Yet, in reality, the story of
Cameron’s own life is even better.
Born to Jamaican parents who immigrated to Connecticut and willfully carved out a new life with their only child at top of mind, the girl grew to become a mother, educator, counselor, life coach, motivational speaker, community advocate, union activist and author — all the while advocating for families and young adults of all races and genders.
Oh, and by the way, those don’t entirely represent Cameron’s official job. That would be as the professional development and educational research director for the Florida Education Association. The FEA is a union that advocates and supports public education, along with its members and students.
This is one Hatter who, well, wears many hats. Not coincidentally, at Stetson Homecoming 2021 Cameron was the recipient of the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Award — personifying “commitment to making other people better.”
So, maybe call this story “The Blossoming of Primrose in Her Garden of Good.” Or perhaps it’s “How to Do Everything at Once to Inspire and Uplift.”
“It’s going to be all or nothing. I’m part of the ‘all’ movement,” describes Cameron, who earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Bethune-Cookman College, followed by the master’s in counseling from Stetson and a doctorate in counseling psychology from Argosy University.
“I just want them to have it all in any way possible. They’re going to have to work for it, but I want them to know that the world is not as scary as what it sometimes seems to be.”
Cameron’s comment was in reference to her efforts with Sisters Build Network for Girls Inc., a mentoring group for girls in grades 3-12 that she founded. However, the same could be said literally for all of her work, including the Calling a Few Good Men conference, which she founded to help hold men accountable for the lives of children and encourage mentorship.
Also, it goes for her leadership roles, both present and past, with, among others, the Juvenile Diversion Alternative Program; DeLand Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches; the Florida Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development; Daughters of the King, OES; the Florida Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; West Volusia Branch of the NAACP and the DeLand Junior Service League.
Further, Cameron’s speaking engagements encompass such topics as building relationships in the workplace, effective communication, building self-esteem and confidence, community engagement, building racial equity in the classroom, and functional families. Also, she once hosted a weekly blog radio program and currently is a newspaper columnist for The West Volusia Beacon (DeLand).
Many of those efforts are placed under the umbrella of Cameron Enterprises LLC, established in 2014 in DeLand. She takes great pride in her volunteer/community service work, truly believing that such efforts “allow others to succeed and grow.”
Then there’s the FEA, with its focus on professional development, growth and support of those who serve Florida’s students. Founded in 1886, FEA is the state’s largest association of professional employees and the largest labor union in the Southeast, with more than 150,000 members in 100plus local unions. That makes Cameron a union activist, too. Among her highlights: helping teachers obtain their required ESOL certification to teach English for Speakers of Other Languages.
Cameron: “I have a problem, because when I have a passion for something, I do it on overload.”
Her explanation for staying this engaged: “I have a problem, because when I have a passion for something, I do it on overload.”
That’s what happens when, she explained in her characteristic broad smile, you are raised by parents who have been together for more than 45 years, and you are shaped by their devotion.
Both of her parents wound up in Stamford, Connecticut, leaving their homeland of Jamaica without knowing each other. Attending different Stamford high schools, they met. While Dad graduated from high school and later joined the U.S. Army, Mom left high school and later earned her GED — so that she could stand by his side and raise their child, Primrose.
When Cameron was 2, her father, Patrick, seeking to do what’s right for the ones that he loved and honor his family, got married
Although initially reluctant after being told she would be a “great counselor,” Cameron has proved to be one.
to Rose and joined the military. He spent 20 years serving in the Army, with Cameron attending many schools around the world and graduating from high school in Germany, where the family was stationed.
At the same time, he was always there for his daughter. “I have the best father ever,” Cameron says, again with her trademark smile. “He just loved us [her and her mother, Rose] unconditionally and created a life for us.”
Her grandmother also holds significant influence. Cameron travels to Jamaica to “give to those who live near the land that allowed my grandmother to take care of my family and create a sense of accomplishment for generations to come.”
On sort of a wing and a prayer, Cameron left Germany to attend Bethune-Cookman College (now Bethune–Cookman University) at age 17. Classmates in Germany were applying for schools in the States, so Cameron did the same. The only school she recalled vividly was Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, where she had once spent time with her family.
After applying, although never receiving an official acceptance letter in the mail, she arrived on campus, hopeful. “I got into this long line [of enrolled student] and asked, ‘Is my name on the list?’ And, fortunately, it was,” she remembers.
Still, there were more “blessings” to prepare for, such as having a son in her sophomore year. Undaunted, she moved forward, because that’s what she had been taught growing up, and “we had goals to accomplish. … My family motto was to ‘move forward.’” She often worked three jobs at a time to take care of her son and herself while taking a full load of courses.
Cameron graduated in four years — sharing that “education saved me, but my son ultimately made me into who I have become.”
With her English degree, Cameron then wanted to write books and “make lots of money,” but following the words of her academic adviser, Margaret Duncan, PhD — who noted there was a son to raise — she instead became an English teacher at T. DeWitt Taylor Middle-High School in nearby Pierson. Cameron’s words: “That became the best decision I could have made.”
She spent four years teaching there, married and divorced during that time, before “stumbling upon Stetson and DeLand.” Advice from a guidance counselor at Taylor Middle-High, Sue Hofstrand, then steered her toward counseling, reluctantly. “I was told that I would make a great counselor. And my reaction was, ‘Stop playing.’”
Yet, eventually, it happened.
By virtue of a scholarship that enabled her to take one class, any class, at Stetson, she enrolled in a multicultural class taught by
Patrick Coggins, PhD
Chris Colwell, EdD
Professor of Education Patrick Coggins, PhD. He became her mentor, and Cameron was on her way to steering lives of her own. And she continues to work with Stetson on numerous fronts.
“I have always been impressed with the fact that she had the energy; she had the intelligence and had what I consider the creative drive to make a difference,” Coggins says, looking back at their past two decades of collaboration.
Coggins first pointed to their background threads, which created a natural connection, with Cameron from Jamaican roots and his from native Guyana. Then Coggins cited example after example of her effective work.
There was a joint effort to promote the Tuskegee Airmen, which resulted in a special production on C-SPAN television during Thanksgiving 2008. The show featured retired Air Force Lt. Col. Hiram Mann of Titusville talking about the experiences of the African American pilots during World War II. “I give her the credit for working out all of the details,” says Coggins.
Also, working with the NAACP in Volusia County, Cameron “did something that no one has been able to do,” Coggins describes — organizing the group’s youth into productive relevance and providing a needed jolt of energy.
She displayed further community commitment last year, creating a Juneteenth event that brought together diverse sectors and demonstrated unity. Coggins attended the event in DeLand, which celebrated the federal government’s establishment of Juneteenth as a national holiday to commemorate the emancipation of African American slaves. “She took it upon herself to organize this. … That would never have happened if it weren’t for her imagination and her energy,” Coggins says.
“She has been an innovator and really made a difference, and continues to make a difference.”
Coggins offered a personal note, too, lauding her for raising a son alone:
“To me, that’s a special feat.”
“Primrose is someone whom I would categorize as a ‘Mission Driven’ educator,” comments Chris Colwell, EdD, associate professor and chair of Stetson’s Department of Education. “Over the years, I have found her to be, without exception, focused on making a difference in the lives of teachers and students, that is her mission. Her expertise, her team-oriented approach to problem-solving and her passion for the work are evident to anyone who has the privilege to know her.”
Quite a story, huh?
It hasn’t ended. At some point, Cameron would like to step aside and “pass the baton,” noting that “somebody passed it to me, and I want to pass it to the next generation.”
Just not now.
The family motto Move Forward still motivates.
“My mind is always on public education — how we provide students with the necessary opportunities that lie ahead, how do we access resources for them and how do we truly support all of our educators [from teachers to support staff to bus drivers],” Cameron says.
“That’s something I do. If you see a need, you are to address it, you are to take care of it, and you are to be your brother’s keeper and your sister’s keeper.”
“Everything that I choose to do,” she concludes, “is within the lineup of my life and how I can better serve others.”
Cameron is looking to “pass the baton” — just not quite yet.
