After decades in the classroom still impacting lives through counselling
By Sugar Ray Thomas
Dr. Wilma Jean Grandison has always had a passion for helping people; from the very young to the very old and her many years of working in education and psychology in Jamaica have allowed her to make an impression on many lives.
Dr. Wilma Jean Grandison is a perfect fit for the mantra of the all-rounded woman. She has been a teacher, guidance counsellor, Christian counsellor, preacher, wedding planner, cake baker, a loving wife and mother. In each of these aspects of her life, she has demonstrated that she is truly a woman of worth (WOW) in Jamaica.
Wilma Jean Hood was born and raised in Watford Hill in Hanover. She attended the Watford Hill All Age School and it was from there that her passion for teaching developed. After she took the Jamaica Local Exams at 16, she was too young to work and also too young to go to college, so she was recruited to help to teach Grades 8 and 9 at her school.
From a very young age as well, Dr. Grandison’s spirituality also started to take form. “Well, I’ve always been involved in the church. I became baptized at 16 in the Watford Hill Baptist Church, became a member of the church’s choir and taught Sunday school,” she said.
She enrolled at Caledonia Junior College and then moved on to three years of studies at Bethlehem Teachers College after which she taught at several schools. These included Watford Hill All Age, Claremont All Age, McAuley All Age and Golden Grove All Age, spending twenty-seven years in the latter. In addition, she continued to pursue additional studies by upgrading at Moneague Teachers College and attaining her first degree in Educational Administration at Western Carolina University in the United States.
The switch from teaching to Psychology
While helping children through education was her initial goal, there was a new calling awaiting Dr. Grandison while at Golden Grove All Age School. “I became the guidance counsellor at my school and I realized I was working with more parents than I thought I would,” she explained. “I was helping a lot more parents and my sessions were longer with them. Therefore I decided to improve myself along that line (in counselling).”
Wilma Jean Grandison’s next step was to enroll in Northern Caribbean University where she attained her Masters in Counselling Psychology in 2003. She further supplemented this with a Doctoral degree in Christian Counselling from Andersonville Theological Seminary in 2009. “Not many persons were going into psychology at the time and I thought I could be of help around the area,” concluded Dr. Grandison, on her decision to switch from teaching to counselling. In 2006, she retired as guidance counsellor of Golden Grove All Age School to concentrate on her private practice as a counsellor.
A passion for the family and successful relationships
As a Christian counsellor, Dr. Grandison is very passionate about the structure of the family and the success of relationships. “If we have proper families we will have a good society because the family is the smallest institution you’ll find anywhere. We need a kind of love to keep society together and that begins in the family,” she expressed confidently.
If she needs a couple to understand the effect of a good relationship and family structure, Dr. Grandison will sometimes allude to her own marriage. She has had a successful marriage of 44 years with her husband, Gladstone Grandison. “My friends would say, ‘You get the last good man weh lef,’” said a laughing Dr. Grandison. They have raised many children together (both biological and adopted) and all have been successful individuals in their fields. She has two sons, a daughter and three grandsons.
She attributes her marital success to having an understanding of her partner. “I don’t try to major in the minors and I try not to focus on the weaknesses. Marriage is a partnership between two persons.”
When North Coast Times asked her for advice that she would give to persons going through difficulties in their life, Dr. Grandison said, “I would say to anyone who has been having any problems that you have to walk hand in hand with God. Don’t do it on a part time basis but be sincere.”
In respect to young couples or persons facing challenges in their relationships her advice was clear. “Don’t wait until you go into a marriage to understand your spouse. Go into a relationship with an open heart and develop an understanding of each other.”
She articulated that once these facets of a good relationship are established, each partner can grow to appreciate each other which in turn can lead to a healthy and long lasting union.
A well rounded woman
Dr. Wilma Jean Grandison finds time away from her busy career and personal life to participate in other facets of life. She has been very active in her church, Moneague Baptist, as Sunday school teacher, lay preacher, deacon and past secretary and president (2009-2011)of the Jamaica Baptist Women’s Federation. As president she travelled widely, even as far as Hawaii and Malaysia.. She sometimes did motivational talks in her travels . She has sat on many committees, served as an education officer on the National Educational Inspectorate (NEI) and lectured in psychology at several tertiary institutions including Moneague College and International University of the Caribbean (IUC). She is a member of the Management Advisory Committee (Beechamville HEART) and is the treasurer of the Claremont/Moneague Ministers Fraternal. Dr. Grandison enjoys reading and has a deep love for cooking, cake baking and decorating. “I love to entertain people. That’s one of my passions now,” laughed Dr. Grandison, as she sat around her work desk, at home, sharing with The Times her successful life.
Wilma Jean Grandison is truly an amazing daughter of the North Coast in Jamaica and her lifetime of achievements stands as an inspiration to many women.
