Kenia Rebozo Mestre started working at Ransom Everglades in 1974, the same year that Jerry Exum, George Kasyan and Ginny Onorati arrived at RE. It was also the same year that the Ransom School and the Everglades School for Girls merged – on paper; it wouldn’t merge in person until the fall of 1976. 

 

RE: What was it like in the beginning?

Kenia Rebozo Mestre: The Headmaster [Frank Brogan] called me “the hyphen,” Kenia says, “because at that time there was a hyphen between the words Ransom and Everglades, so it was Ransom-Everglades. 

 

RE: What positions did you have while at Ransom Everglades?

KRM: I taught Spanish and French, was Director of Activities at the Middle School and the Summer School Director, and I also worked as the Alumni Director for several years. In the early years, I was put on a committee to develop a curriculum, and one idea I had was to offer a Spanish class for heritage speakers or students from Spanish-speaking families. I worked on the middle school curriculum, and Ruth Harlow and Ann Goesel were my mentors. Later, I decided I wanted to be at the upper school, so of my 32 years at RE, I was at the middle school for 10, then a few years at both again, then strictly at the upper school.

 

RE: Tell us about your family history.

KRM: I was born in Cuba, and my parents realized when Castro came to power that we needed to leave. My family left Cuba in 1961 when I was 13 years old. I’m a proud Cuban American

graduate of Coral Gables Senior High. My sister was six months old when we moved here. She’s now the Head of School at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Day School, Mrs. Silvia Larrauri, beloved by many. Our mother passed away in 2020 at the age of 98. I got a BA and MA at the University of Miami, went to Europe and spent a year in Spain, then came back and got hired at RE.

 

RE: You got married in the Pagoda, is that true?

KRM: That’s right! I married Jorge Mestre. We knew each other from when we were teenagers, but never dated. We lost touch then reconnected when he was living in Mexico. He called me at RE one day. We were married six months later. It was a whirlwind romance! We’ve been married for 26 years. He has five children and eight grandchildren. I call myself the “vice abuela.”

 

RE: What do you miss most about teaching?

KRM: I miss being around students, and I miss my very good faculty friends. I got very attached.

 

RE: What are you doing now?

KRM: I retired in 2006, and Jorge and I love to travel. We most recently spent 17 days in Europe on a Viking River Cruise down the Rhine. We started in Basel, Switzerland, and cruised to Amsterdam to see the Christmas Market. Last summer we went on a 15-day tour of northern Spain. We travel with friends a lot, which is wonderful. We escaped from Miami during Covid and drove to Savannah, Hilton Head Island and Charlotte, and then back through St. Augustine. Another great trip was when we drove to New Orleans.

 

RE: What else do you like to do, now that you’re retired?

KRM: I enjoy taking classes at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Miami. I’ve enrolled in Italian, Art History and all sorts of history classes. I want to get back into that because I really enjoy it. I love to read, especially the WWI time period. 

 

RE: You and Mr. Bowden were close friends.

KRM: Yes, we were very close friends. I called him “The Abuelo.” He is greatly missed.