MONTEGO BAY, St James — As a young girl attending the Mount Alvernia High School in St James, Aaliyah Campbell dreamt of one day pursuing a career in mortuary services.

Now 19 years old, Campbell is a certified mortician working in one of the parish’s most recognisable funeral homes.

Though her introduction to this unconventional career path may be a bit “vague”, the teenager remembers when she fell in love with the idea of working inside of a morgue at the age of 13.

She was a grade nine student then.

“I heard the term (mortician) somewhere, but the memory is a bit vague…I just remember saying that I am going to try this. I don’t think that’s normal because nobody just gets up and says they are going to pursue a career in funeral service, but I did,” Campbell told the Jamaica Observer West in an exclusive interview.

With the support of her mother, Campbell later landed the opportunity to do a month of voluntary service at the Delapenha Funeral Home in Montego Bay.

“I didn’t have a career path at the time, so I was exploring and that drew my interest. I told my mom about it, and she got me the opportunity to do voluntary service at the funeral home that I am working at now,” she said.

As you can imagine, a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Campbell was unprepared for what she would experience on her first day inside the morgue.

“I had never seen a dead body a day in my life, but when I came, I wasn’t scared. I was determined to give this a shot, so I was helping to embalm a body…everything went fine. But once I got home that evening, I was alone and I was so traumatised,” she told the Observer West.

“Cold sweat washed me and every body that I saw that day replayed in my head. I could not sleep, I was screaming. It was a disaster and I had to call a friend to calm me down,” Campbell added with a laugh.

But, determined to complete her month of commitment, the young girl continued to volunteer at the morgue.

“I just made up my mind that this is what I’m going to do, and I grew to love it. I went back and I wasn’t scared. After that incident, nothing like that ever happened again,” she noted.

This newfound love for mortuary science not only pushed Campbell to visit the morgue even after her voluntary hours were completed, but she went on to pursue an associate degree in funeral service and mortuary science at the Montego Bay Community College (MBCC).

“I absolutely love it so much. In grades 10 and 11, I didn’t really come (go to the funeral home) very often because I was focusing on my school-based assessments (SBA) and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) [exams], but I would stop by,” said Campbell.

“After I graduated, I didn’t see myself doing anything else. I was 16 when I graduated high school and I started the course at the same time,” she added.

With just four months into her career as a certified mortician, Campbell is humbled to have attained the goal at such a young age.

“I really have a passion for this. I just feel like it is an honour to take care of someone’s loved one for the last time. My favourite part is embalming because with [that process], we bring back life to them basically,” she told the Observer West.

“That is how I see it because some of the deceased may be in a different state when they died, and we are able to reconstruct their bodies to give them a great look or a similar look to how they were when they were alive. So, I find joy in that,” she explained.

Though she is currently not working inside of the morgue, the young adult tries her very best to give support to every bereaving family she comes across.

“I only visit the morgue if I choose to. So, if I feel like it has been a while since I’ve embalmed a body then I’ll go and help. I do funerals, obituaries, and death notices…so I assist the drivers and the family with anything that they need,” said Campbell.

Acknowledging that she has a bright future ahead of her, Campbell looks towards operating businesses of her own in the funeral services industry.

“I have never thought of owning a funeral home. I don’t know why, but I don’t have an interest in that. But I would consider owning a crematorium because there is not much in Jamaica and a funeral supply shop. When I was in college it was difficult for me to get the gear that we needed for embalming…so I want to make them easily accessible to other students and funeral home workers,” she told the Observer West.

Her family, Campbell said, has given their utmost support in her career choice. But, she added, they are always the quickest to make jokes.

“Sometimes they’ll make fun of me because I am afraid of rodents and cockroaches. So, they’re like, ‘Aaliyah, how you deh embalm people and you fraid a rat? That nuh mek no sense’. But a rat is alive and will do me something. The dead cannot do me anything,” said Campbell with a chuckle.