10 things you didn't know about Alma Mock-Yen

She's been dubbed the 'arbiter of media' and the doyenne of contemporary media. This is little wonder as Alma Mock-Yen was at the forefront of the media fraternity in Jamaica, and, by extension, the Caribbean, as she was not only a pioneering broadcaster, she has lectured at the University iof the west Indies (Mona).

A legend in her lifetime, today, Mock-Yen is an octogenarian, but not one sitting around feeling sorry for herself. She has maintained an active social life while keeping abreast of the technology that has so dramatically changed the lives and social interaction of the globe.

She's an active social-media user and can be found on Facebook mediating many a heated discussion!

Today, Outlook Magazine shares 10 things not previously known about the trailblazing Alma Mock-Yen.

1 She won a scholarship to Wolmer's Girls' School in the 1940s, and was first in the school in literature in the Senior Cambridge School Leaving Certificate Examination.

2 She was one of the youngest teachers on record as she began teaching language and literature at age 14 at Merl Grove High School to students, some of whom were the same age and some much older.

3 She was a founding member, later soloist and choreographer, of the celebrated Ivy Baxter Modern Creative Dance Group (1950-1967) for which she wrote the libretto and lyrics of Jamaica's first integrated musical Once Upon A Seaweed produced by Noel Vaz at the Ward Theatre in 1960.

4 She was presented to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at King's House in 1953; and as an RJR staff member, did commentary on their visit to thousands of Jamaican schoolchildren at Sabina Park.

5 She has met, conversed with, and enjoyed the wit of Scottish actor Sean Connery (James Bond) on his visit to the Ward Theatre to see the LTM Pantomime, Banana Boy in 1961. The cast included: Mock-Yen, Carmen Manley, Louise Bennett, Ranny Williams, Delroy Mendez, and other luminaries.

6 She writes poetry, with her second volume of poems titled 2010-2011; Reflections over Footnotes which is due to be published by the end of 2013.

7 She is an avid gardener with a firm belief in horticultural therapy. She also enjoys a game of 'cut-throat' dominoes.

8 She avoids pharmaceuticals, relying more on the efficacy of natural products such as garlic, cinnamon, honey, etc.

9 She won the Miss YMCA beauty contest in 1945.

10 At age 84, she still does a hot Cuban cha-cha. Ruled by Scorpio, her current ambition is to live to be 100.

- CFJ