7 D r. Monica Masino is a native of the United States who spent 14 years living in Barbados and working for The University of the West Indies Open Campus. Dr. Masino is an innovative Educator, Academic Administrator, Consultant and Entrepreneur with a passion for empowering individuals and organisations. She held appointments such as Senior Education Consultant with ELMOD Consulting Inc., Senior Programme Officer, Prior Learning Assessment; Senior Programme Coordinator, Business Development Unit (BDU); Senior Lecturer and Programme Coordinator, Academic Programming and Delivery Unit of The University of the West Indies Open Campus; and Associate Dean with ITT Technical Institute. Dr. Monica Masino Dr. Masino holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Argosy University, a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), University of the People, a Master’s Degree in Technology Based Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a Minor in Human Studies from California State University Dominguez Hills. Dr. Masino’s entrepreneurial spirit has led her to launch successful ventures that address emerging needs in the education and consulting industries. Dr. Masino’s dynamic approach, coupled with her commitment to excellence, makes her a sought-after professional in her field. by Monica Masino, Ed.D. I grew up in rural Jackson, Louisiana on 28 acres of land that included a pond, barn, fields of green grass and crops such green peas, butter beans, corn, carrots, potatoes, okra, sweet potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, peaches, plums, mustard greens, and hay -grass. We also had cows, pigs, chickens, goats, and a few bulls. We lived on the farm, and we often had to take my little sister on an adventure in the pastures so that she wouldn’t see our mother leave for work. In my childhood, sometimes as we played throughout the hills on my family’s property, the clouds overhead would turn dark and soon big raindrops would begin to fall as my sisters and I ran towards the house for shelter. Louisiana’s weather is humid during the summer months and really cold during the winter. It was especially scary for me when it rained. It would start out with light sprinkles before it began to pour. Soon after, in the distance, I would hear the thunder which sounded like someone was moving parts of the earth. My mother would always say that it was the Lord moving his furniture around. Her words would always bring me comfort, at least, until the lightning struck across the sky. I used to think it was so beautiful as it lit up the sky but that quickly changed when I watched lightning strike a tree branch and knock it off the tree. I was in shock at the power of a lightning strike and have been afraid of lightning since. Flooding also went with the heavy rain. The rain flooded the fields, the yard, and the ponds. The water rose so high that it allowed fish to flow out of the pond. A few days later when the water began to recede, we were able to catch catfish and crayfish in the ditch near the road. We were one of the lucky families that was spared from house flooding as our house sat on cement blocks, high enough to avoid the flood water. I remember once we travelled to a relative’s house and our cousins were outside playing in the rain in a small boat. The area where the pigs were kept had filled with water from the rain, and our cousins had taken out the boat so we could go on an adventure. We took turns riding across from one section of the pen to the other. However, the fun soon ended when • Continues on next page
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