GRADUATES of Cornwall College have been reliving memories of the days at “CC” when one of their schoolmates later turned out to be one of the most distinguished alumni any institution could hope for – Professor Rex Nettleford. Here a group of former Cornwallians pay tribute to him, remembering the impact he had on their lives:

For whatever reason, Professor Rex Nettleford’s name is the only one I remembered from that esteemed list of outstanding Cornwallians that was posted in our dining room at Cornwall. I believe it has to do with the fact that his is such an interesting story. He accomplished much not as a privileged child but against severe odds. Prof then became my lifelong inspiration. RIP, Prof.

– Ronnie (Sudda) Sutherland

Some of us might recall learning that Prof lived as a child in an area of Montego Bay called Railway Lane. He was mentored by Maas Charlie Aggate then living along Barracks Road and who who had established a Boys’ Town near the railway station. A later Charles Aggate (his son) kept goal for Cornwall. I remember as a small boy being taken there by my uncle, a good friend of Mass Charlie, to watch blurry 8mm movies being projected to the boys.

Who knows what early experiences, searing in him ambition, carve a man’s destiny? I for one know many who could speak first-hand to such experiences, having been to Cornwall. A noble school to which we owe an unpayable debt.

– George Campbell

There are so many reflections of Rex that a number of us can recall.

Yes, I remember his Boys’ Town days, when he lived beside my grandmother on Barnett Lane, his coming to Cornwall and the educational rivalry between him and a Chinese student who came to school in the late 40s, vying for first or second (in transitu and fifth form). We wondered how he got 100 per cent in Latin and other subjects and still found time to represent Leader House in athletics and soccer, and was involved in drama with “Pat” Burke and others.

He walked with kings and never lost the common touch, always had time for his former schoolmates. Prof was one of a kind and will be remembered by many for years to come, in many areas.

– Willie Taylor

To this day the greatest thing to have happened to me was passing my common entrance in 1989. Next to that was attending Cornwall College.

Having lived in many inner-city communities across Montego Bay, the only person I heard about to have come from a similar background was Ralston “Rex” Nettleford.

I personally used his journey to be my guiding light and have held him in such high esteem from the first day I heard about him. Noel Monteith, Croswell Taylor, Hyacinth Ford, Lyndon Brown, Dave Soares, were administrators who constantly reminded us of the legacy that had been left behind by people like Rex Nettleford. Any Cornwallian worth anything in my time had to be inspired by great men like Professor Nettleford. I heard the stories and how I wish I had been born many years earlier.

Before I knew what a university was, I knew he had gone to many…

Before I knew what it meant to embrace one’s culture, he already had…

Before I knew what it meant to use education to lift oneself from poverty, Rex was a “king”.

I never met him, but I knew him, because he is a Cornwallian. Rex is my schoolmate.

– Sadarka Russell