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JACKSON NEIGHBORS: Jamaica to Jackson: Islander finds new home
On talking to him, you notice one thing immediately – Glenn Bowen was not originally a “Jackson neighbor.”
Bowen’s island roots (he is a native of Jamaica) have endowed him with an accent unlike any found in America. Like the reggae and ska music the island nation is famous for, Bowen’s language is rhythmic and pleasing to the ears. It’s easy for someone who has spent their life around mostly American dialects to get lost in the flow. However, when you come to and listen to what Bowen’s actually saying, he has a pretty fascinating story.
Glenn Bowen’s life story is almost as good to listen to as his accent.
“I have what you might call a checkered career history,” Bowen said.
He doesn’t mean he’s had checkered jobs in the way Al Capone might have meant it if he had said the same thing.
What he has done is work his way to management positions in public relations (“I was the PR manager for Alumina Partners of Jamaica. I enjoyed the job, but it was pretty hectic.”), journalism (he’s worked in newspaper, television and radio, where he developed a program to let locals in Jamaica’s Montego Bay area hear the news in their own language for the first time) and, now, academics. Bowen is the service learning coordinator at Western Carolina University.
After working for Alumina Partners – a company that mines an ore used in the production of aluminum alloy – Bowen decided he wanted to focus more on academics. He became a student and took a job in the Center for Leadership Development at Florida International University in Miami. It was at FIU that Bowen met his wife, a native of Haiti. The island couple was enjoying life in Miami until they found themselves with itchy feet.
“My wife had relatives in North Carolina and thought we should move here. So, we came to visit her cousins in Charlotte and I decided to look for a job in the area,” Bowen said. “Last July I hadn’t even heard of Western Carolina University.”
It turned out at the very same time Bowen was looking for a job, Western was looking for a coordinator for its service learning program.
“I thought it would be a perfect combination of my skills and experience,” Bowen said.
So he applied and was given an interview. Cullowhee, however, is a long way – both culturally and geographically – from Miami.
“When I came up here for my interview from Miami I came through Atlanta. By the time I got to Franklin I kept asking myself, ‘Glenn, what did you get yourself into?’ I thought I had made the wrong choice coming here,” Bowen said with a laugh. “After I spent one night here I looked out the window and was amazed at how connected I felt to nature. Then when I got out and I was meeting people, I realized the people are really warm and welcoming.”
Bowen decided Western was the place for him, and he’s been there for about a year now.
“It’s great, I love it here,” Bowen said, with a lilt that made Cullowhee Creek suddenly resemble the Caribbean Sea.
It’s a beautiful accent, and it can even make a mountain boy long for a palm tree and some sand.
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