Clovis Nelson is a fifth-year doctoral student studying educational leadership and organizational leadership in the Abraham S. Fischler School of Education. Outside of class, Nelson is a sculptor and volunteers with the city of Pompano Beach as a member of its Cultural Arts and Education Advisory committees.
He also periodically sings in reggae stage shows throughout South Florida. Clovis’ story is one of endurance and perseverance, overcoming many obstacles, including socioeconomic restraints, poor parental structure, prejudice and sabotage. He hopes that, through his story, readers see the importance of holding their heads up high through tough times in their lives.
I was born in St. Andrew, Jamaica on Jan. 4, the sixth child of 18 children. My father was a building contractor who garnered lots of admiration from the community, not just for his building skills but also, according to trusted family oral tradition, for being a great-grandson of the famed British Admiral and national hero of England, Lord Horatio Nelson. My mother, who was a Maroon — people of African descent who independently made their way to the Caribbean Islands during or before the 17th century, abandoned me when I was three months old.
I had a rough childhood, as my stepmother subjected me to heavy labor and physical abuse. The treatment was painful, but educational and I consider that experience to be the primary driving force behind my determination to succeed. I was a child who had to make adult decisions to protect myself. The instinctive lessons of survival became common practice for my siblings and me.
From as early as I can remember, my stepmother demanded I perform a variety of daily labor on the farm early every morning — including hauling gallons of water on my head in huge buckets for miles. School was overshadowed by the agony of additional physical labor on the construction sites where my father worked, which often stole valuable school days away.
I was an aware and inquisitive child disciplined by the fear of uncertainty and physical and emotional battering. I found comfort in a little corner where endless imagination and dreams for better days served as soothing pastimes.
I took pleasure in understanding the intricacies of the natural sciences, the way things work and why. I would disassemble and reassemble old clocks as a way of testing my attention to details. I also drew animals and objects and made toys and models of animals from clay from the backyard.
I held on vigorously to these discovered talents and creative thinking abilities and the visual arts, which brought about meaningful relaxation and made me forget the beatings, while opening a giving vent of a self-made alternative and a sense of true purpose, which ultimately shaped the nucleus of what was to become my sole objective.
My family was poor and, as a boy who only made it through high school on raw determination, I did not think college was an option for me. At 17, I ran away from the family home — away from the abuse and adverse conditions. I passed the entrance exams to attend art college, where I graduated with two bachelor’s degrees in fine art sculpture and art education, with honors. I later taught at several prominent high schools in Jamaica before transitioning to a position of lecturer at my alma mater, the Edna Manley College.
I held art exhibitions in Jamaica and the United States; and I also worked on numerous architectural amenities in prominent locations throughout the island and was the sculptor on two national monuments for Nanny of the Maroons, a Jamaican hero, and Michael Manley, a Jamaican prime minister, in 2002. I am also the first Jamaican artist to have worked on several feature films on location in Jamaica as a special effects artist, including “The Lord of the Flies,” “Popcorn,” “The Lunatic” and “Cool Runnings.”
In 2003, I was granted an assistantship to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where I earned a master’s degree in art education. As an educator from humble beginnings, I launched myself wholeheartedly into areas of service and civic duties, especially where the need was greatest. My childhood experiences were more than enough mental preparation for the task ahead and I was relentless in my efforts to make a difference.
I am the first member of my family to go to college, and I know that the lack of good early math teaching skills is one of the causes of frustration for some children, especially those who learn via nontraditional methods. As a result, I am currently conducting research for my dissertation that aims to address the importance of integrating visual arts in educational development as a tool to teach basic concepts of geometry and prevent delinquency.
Despite a few difficulties in working with a few individuals as a student at NSU, I am largely grateful to be in an atmosphere where my individuality and ethnicity is not seen as a sign of inferiority or deficiency. I am very grateful for the opportunity to learn and share with fellow students and great professors who truly care and who openly respect and appreciate me. Also, I am grateful that I am not subjected to an atmosphere that lacks oneness of purpose, wide scale love, equal rights and justice. In Jamaica, we would say “big-up-NSU,” which means utter respect.
After completing my studies, I intend to seek political office wherever I choose to live. My aim is to dismantle the practice of child abuse wherever I can and effect changes in educational structure by improving the way teaching and learning happens and giving every child, regardless of their conditioning and or situation, the chance at an education. My motto is a phrase made popular by reggae superstar, Bob Marley: “One Love” — the primary ingredient for ultimate unity, equality and the source for justice.
