Sugar Ray Thomas
Many people in this life will not handle bad news about their well-being, and will resort to throwing in the towel, but not C. Angela Strudwick. She’s gone past that and is determined to live her best life where she dedicates her time to service and is a source of inspiration to many.
Her story is one of resilience, survival and overcoming challenges. On August 30, 2002, Ms Strudwick received the news that she was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, a form of breast cancer and that her treatment would have included a radical mastectomy.
CANCER SURVIVAL AND SERVICE
Many women would have resorted to giving up, but not Ms Strudwick, who at the time was pursuing her master’s degree. She read all the information she could find on the cancer, and then with the help of her mentor, the late Hyacinth Franklin, who she says was just so awesome and amazing, her medical team Drs. Wendell Guthrie, Clive Thomas, Jennifer Thame, Guyan Arscott and Venslow Greaves, chartered her treatment path. This included chemotherapy and breast reconstruction.
“It’s natural for you to be sacred, but the support I got from my family and friends was overwhelming. Hence it was only natural after I recovered to get myself aligned to the St. Ann and St. Mary Jamaica Cancer Society Survivors’ Group to lend my support. As a special project, each year I do the bun and cheese sale to help assist needy persons to offset the cost of their mammogram,” Miss Strudwick explained.
As the chairperson for the Survivors’ Group, she educates people who are diagnosed with the disease and helps them to understand the importance of staying positive throughout their treatment.
Her work with cancer does not stop there, as she drums up the support of her employer,Ocho Rios Commercial Centre, a subsidiary of the Urban Development Company (UDC), colleagues, subordinates, family and friends to participate in the annual Relay For Life event, where survivorship is celebrated and those who have lost their battle with cancer are remembered. Sadly, she has lost two friends to the dreaded disease.
Miss Strudwick’s hard work and involvement in the cancer society has not gone unnoticed, as she was awarded the Hero of Hope Award (2011-2012) from the American Cancer Society.
INFLUENCE OF GRANDPARENTS
Her strength to overcome and her desire to serve may have developed whilst growing up in Duncans, Trelawny with her grandparents. She describes herself as very straight forward, very dedicated, creative and very reliable — characteristics that came from her grandparents.
“My dedication and being a very reliable person came from my maternal grandmother, the late Gwendolyn Traile. She was very strict and she instilled in us the importance of education and independence. She was of the belief that all young girls should have a profession, because you should never be a dependent. My creative side and my straight-forwardness came from my late paternal grandfather, Harold Strudwick. Even though my grandparents have passed on, I continue to bask in their memories,” Miss Strudwick said.
The helpful nature of her grandfather also steered her life in a direction where her motto that she lives by is “There is great joy in heaven, when we are kind to one another.”
PROFESSION IN OPERATIONS
Miss Strudwick attended Duncans All Age School, then William Knibb Memorial High School where she became a member of the Key Club in 1979.
She later moved on to Excelsior High School.
After leaving high school in 1985, she did a stint in the hospitality industry, then ventured into the accounting world, first as an auditor at the then Coopers & Lybrand and then for five years as an accountant at Sand Castles Resort in Ocho Rios, St Ann. During that time she pursued a Diploma in Accounting at Jamaica Institute of Management (JIM).
“I initially wanted to become a chartered accountant, but somewhere along the line, I deviated and felt that urge to be in Operations,” she explained, while adding that the passion of being in operations stemmed from her father’s own work as an assistant engineer at the then Trelawny Beach Hotel.
Her first exposure in operations management came in 1996 whilst working at the St. Ann Development Company (SADCo), where she was placed at Dunn’s River Falls & Park. She left SADCo in 1999, to pursue tertiary studies, graduating from the University of the West Indies with a Bachelor of Science degree. In 2005, she graduated with a Master’s degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management, with emphasis in Hospitality Management.
Miss Strudwick returned to SADCo in 2001. In 2007 the position of manager for Ocho Rios Commercial Centre became vacant; she applied, was interviewed and was the successful applicant. She still occupies the position. Her responsibility is to ensure the effective management and maintenance of Ocean Village Shopping Centre, while maximizing the investments of the stakeholder — Urban Development Corporation (UDC).
In addition to her work, she has been an adjunct lecturer at the University of the West Indies- Open Campus, Ocho Rios for the past four years.
Her community service and involvements also continues as she has been a Justice of the Peace since 2011. She serves as a member of the panel for Children’s Court when assigned.
KIWANIAN
Since moving to Ocho Rios in 1990, Miss Strudwick has given over 25 years of committed service to the Kiwanis movement. In August of 1990, she became a chartered member of the Kiwanis Club of the Garden Parish- Ocho Rios.
She has served as distinguished secretary for her club several years and has also been a distinguished past president for two stints; 1995-1996 and 1996-1997.
- AngelaStrudwick has also served on the board of the Eastern Canada and the Caribbean District of Kiwanis International as Regional Trustee for Region H from 2013-2015. In addition, she has served as theLieutenant Governor for Division 24 from 2008-2009 and 2010-2011.
Miss Strudwick’s work, including fundraising as a Kiwanian has benefitted many as she has sought bi-annual donations of school supplies to basic and primary schools in St Ann, ably assisted by the Friends for Life Florida Group and food items for Christmas breakfast for the Mustard Seed’s Jacob’s Ladder Home.
Her work in the Kiwanis movement has been recognized with numerous awards including: the Mel Osborne Fellow in 2000; the Glen Bagnell Growth Award (2008-2009); the Godfrey Dyer Award for dedicated service to Kiwanis in Division 24 (2011) and the Frank Melhado Award in 2015.
“I live by my Kiwanis motto, “serving the children of the world’,” she noted, with a smile.
FAMILY LIFE
Miss Strudwick is the eldest of her siblings and she shares a close relationship with them. “As a family we respect the decision that each person makes,” she explained.
While she is close to her other siblings, she shares a special bond with her brother Paul. “He was just so selfless and caring during my cancer treatment,” Miss Strudwick recollected.
Although not having any children of her own, Miss Strudwick is the godmother of five children. She admitted that she “spoils them too much.”
Outside of her career and her community work with the cancer society and Kiwanis, she takes time out to plan events, takes care of her orchids, reads her bible and inspirational books, and goes globetrotting with her brother Paul.
She has dedicated her life to Christ and she is “enjoying every aspect of her relationship with Him,” she noted.
WOMEN NEED TO BE INDEPENDENT
As a woman who is a leader on the North Coast, C. Angela Strudwick has posited that it is very critical for women in the society to be independent and not dependent. She explained that planning is the key for them to attain this.
“You have to make a plan and do periodic assessment of your journey. In making your plan, you have to make sure you seek divine intervention from your Creator. There are many of us who do things in life without seeking God’s guidance. Once you have a plan that is dedicated to God in place, you need to stay focused and grounded,” she said.
- Angela Strudwick’s story is one that highlights that challenges can be overcome and each human being should play his or her part in helping others that face challenges. She is definitely a Woman of Worth (WOW) for 2016.
