In the Spotlight: Meet Carol Romagosa

13 March 2017

In the Spotlight - Carol Romagosa
-Submitted by Jan Crane

“Education” is a word that sums up Carol’s life- she loves it and she lives it! A lifelong passion for learning propelled her to a first degree in Pharmacy (Albany College 1967) and later to a Masters and Doctorate in Health Promotion and Education at the University of Utah (2010.) She has taken classes ‘just for fun’ in creative writing, stress management, Chinese philosophy, poetry, the works of Carl Jung, Tai Chi, and Shakespeare for the last eight semesters. Professor Mark Matheson is an amazing teacher who makes the subject so interesting!

Carol Carl (her maiden name) grew up in upstate New York in a lovely close-knit German-American family; hence her taste for sauerkraut and German potato salad. She married a Cuban-American, Henry Romagosa. They lived in Chicago, traveled to Europe many times and eventually settled in Salt Lake City. Henry was outgoing, where Carol is very shy. Later, after her divorce, she really came into her own and found herself.

Working at the university bookstore, she decided to take classes- half price, what a deal! Adrienne Splinter was in one of her classes and they became friends. Later, when Carol decided to attend the First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake, she told Adrienne and was surprised when she learned that was her friend’s spiritual home, too. Carol thinks she first heard about the church from an interesting article in the Tribune about walking a labyrinth. Another influence was a book that her ex-husband shared with her called “Being Liberal in an Illiberal Age” by Jack Mendelsohn. She investigated further and realized that she had been a Unitarian her whole life and didn’t know it!

Carol has participated in Small Group Ministry, several years as a facilitator, and the Women’s Sacred Circle. If you see a smiling petite blond woman at the Welcome Table warmly explaining the church to newcomers, that’s Carol. Once she found it hard to go up and talk to people she now loves to share and help others find a spiritual community, and get involved in the good things the church stands for.

Carol thinks it’s important to pledge because the church is a home- a Beloved Community! It means so much to her. The Seven Principles are what it’s all about- she may not remember them all, but the first and last are always with her- “The inherent worth and dignity of every person” and Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” If you don’t know Carol, stop by the Welcome Table in Eliot Hall and say hi.