Training Sessions for Peer Educators Prepare Them for UVI, Community Outreach

From left, St. Thomas Campus Peer Educators Sean Benjamin, 

Lurenzo Scotland - a lead educator, Elvaneice Huggins and 

Kiah Muller - a lead educator, release balloons signifying the 

release of their weaknesses while focusing on their strengths 

during a training session. Click on photos to see larger image

This year, when UVI celebrates Red Ribbon Week on St. Croix and St. Thomas, members of the University’s Peer Educators Program will play a key role in the activities. In addition to staffing pledge tables and participating in the planned marches, the Peer Educators – 16 on St. Croix and 19 on St. Thomas – will make presentations on campus and participate in outreach to the greater Virgin Islands community. (Note: Red Ribbon activities are set for both campuses from Oct. 27-30. Link to UVI Announcements)

           

Their goal is to share accurate information about the effects that drugs, alcohol and HIV have on their fellow students as well as other residents in the territory. Three formal training sessions held earlier this semester brought all the program’s students together to hear from experts in their respective fields, according to Program Coordinator Alyssa Ryan. The trainings, a mandatory aspect of the program, featured Dr. Peggy Glider from the University of Arizona; Vanessa Cooke, director of Bowie State University’s Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Prevention Center; and UVI alumna Japheth Auguste, who works as a professional counselor in Florida.

Some of the contingent of Peer Educators from the Albert A. Sheen 

Campus gather for a photo during a break from training. Shown, 

from left, are - back row - Tyquana Mewborn, Samuel Joseph, 

Akira Matthew, Briana Eleonora, Chyrise Eleonora, Shenequa 

Hector and Rokeyah Connor, and -  front row - Janalee Concepcion, 

Christopher Rosario - lead educator, Sophia Johnson, Kaila Mitchell 

and Ashley Baker.

Glider shared details of a program she runs that is designed to reduce high-risk drinking among college students and others ages 18 to 24 using campus-based media campaigns and other strategies to address misperceptions about alcohol. Cooke conducted a Certified Peer Educators Training session designed to improve listening skills, develop socially inclusive outreach efforts, and share techniques to successfully encourage individuals to take action steps for change. All Peer Educators work to achieve certification.

Auguste’s training focused on an in-depth look at the effects of alcohol and marijuana on different parts of the body, and how students can translate that information to their peers. She also discussed the possible legalization of marijuana in the Virgin Islands and how to handle situations where Peer Educators encounter students who strongly favor the legalization of medicinal and recreational marijuana.

The work of Peer Educators continues throughout the year. The program is part of UVI’s larger Substance Abuse and HIV Prevention Program, which is funded by a major grant by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration.

Peer Educators pose with presenter Dr. Peggy Glider, in red, from the University of Arizona during a training session in September.

Three St. Croix UVI Process Technology Students Receive Seven Seas Water Scholarships

Scholarship Recipients of the Seven Seas Water Scholarships are, from
left, Tyrone DeCosta, Alex G. Cintron and Kwame N. Garcia.

Three UVI Process Technology students on St. Croix have each been awarded $2,000 scholarships for the 2014-2015 academic school year from Seven Seas Water. The students are Tyrone DeCosta, Alex G. Cintron and Kwame N. Garcia. 

All three recipients are first-year students in the two-year Associate of Applied Science in Process Technology (AASPT) Degree Program which is offered on the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix. This program has produced 110 graduates in the last decade. These graduates are now employed in industrial facilities locally, nationally and globally.

Seven Seas Water is based in Tampa, Fla, and operates reverse osmosis water desalination plants at the Virgin Islands Water Power Authority (VIWAPA) plant facilities on St. Thomas and St. Croix. Seven Seas Water has been partnering with and supporting the Process Technology Program by providing scholarships, internships and employment opportunities to UVI students since 2012. For more information contact Program Director Eric Douglas at (340) 690-9533 or send email to edougla@live.uvi.edu.

UVI Alumna, Professor Named ‘Future of Nursing Scholar’

Future of Nursing Scholar Desiree Bertrand attends 7th Annual UVI CERC Health Disparities Institute on St. Thomas. 

Nursing is Desiree Bertrand’s calling. The need to help someone else is what drew her to the career, but it is understanding that research can lead to solutions, that drove her to seek a doctorate degree in nursing. Bertrand’s dedication to research has not gone unnoticed. 

Bertrand, a University of the Virgin Islands alumna, has been named a Future of Nursing Scholar by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This fall, she is part of the inaugural cohort of the foundation’s Future of Nursing Scholars (FNS) Program. This program is designed to dramatically increase the number of Ph.D.-prepared nurses in the United States.

The schools that are funded by the FNS program select the students who will receive scholarships and other support. Bertrand is enrolled in the Medical University of South Carolina and attends classes on-line. She was chosen from 15 other (MUSC) Ph.D. nursing students who were expected to begin classes in 2014.

Sixteen students from universities throughout the United States will join Bertrand in the program’s inaugural cohort. “I was very honored and humbled to receive such a scholarship,” says Bertrand. The FNS program is a three year program that provides financial support, mentoring, leadership development activities, and postdoctoral research funding to build the leadership capacity of nurse educators and researchers.

UVI Adjunct Nursing Professor Desiree Bertrand 

“My initial drive to get a Ph.D. is so that I can better understand the research process,” says Bertrand, who hopes to become a well-qualified nurse researcher. “With a Ph.D., I would be able to apply for grants and do my own research projects – which is my goal.”

For her doctoral research, Bertrand will focus on intimate partner violence. Her research interests include women's health, health disparities and domestic violence. She is co-principal investigator of a research study titled, “An Integrated Risk Reduction Intervention for African Caribbean Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence – The Empowered Sisters Project.”

“I think the fact that I am actively doing research and the depth of research over the last five years, was a major decision factor in getting this scholarship,” says Bertrand, who has been an assistant professor at UVI since 2003 and has been a research coordinator and community education and outreach director with the UVI Caribbean Exploratory Research Center (CERC) since 2009.

“The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Future of Nursing Scholars program was designed as a multi-funder initiative that will create a diverse group of Ph.D.-prepared nurses committed to long-term leadership careers, advancing science and discovery through research, strengthening nursing education, and furthering transformational change in nursing and health care,” says Heather J. Kelley-Thompson, FNS program deputy director. Bertrand joined the inaugural cohort of scholars attending a leadership boot camp in August 2014. “This two-day immersion allowed the scholars to connect as a cohort and develop skills that will serve them well as they begin their doctoral programs,” says Kelly-Thompson.

“Ms. Bertrand has been a major contributor to key research projects in which the center is involved, participating in data collection, analysis and manuscript development and publications,” says Dr. Gloria Callwood, UVI associate professor of nursing and director of CERC. “I am certain that her extraordinary accomplishments related to her research activities at CERC influenced the decision makers at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.”

Bertrand has participated in and provided oversight of research activity on St Croix, while leading territorial community activities to inform the public on health risk reduction and leading healthier life styles, says Dr. Callwood. Under her leadership, the Community Education and Outreach Core developed a “Health Education Toolkit,” which can be accessed at http://cercuvi.com. She has also presented research outcomes at national and international conferences.

There is little health research on Virgin Islanders or research done by Virgin Islanders, explains Bertrand. “The research that I am doing now and in the future will affect people in the Virgin Islands.” Currently research done on African Americans in the mainland, are used to represent the health needs of people in the territory. She hopes she will have the opportunity to collaborate with other researches to benefit the healthcare in the territory.

Desiree Bertrand (right) speaks with CERC Community Engagement and
Outreach Coordinator Dr. Angela Ford (center ) and CERC Regional
Coordinator Dr. Janis M. Valmond at the CERC Health Disparities Institute. 

Bertrand is an adjunct nursing professor at UVI. Students participating in the FNS program are strongly encouraged to cut their workload in half. The program provides financial support that allows them to work part-time as they pursue their doctoral degrees.

Bertrand earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from UVI in 1995 and a Master of Science in Nursing Education from Midwestern State University in 2002.

The other universities participating in the FNS program include Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, Villanova University, the University of California- Davis, the University of California - San Francisco, the University of California - Los Angeles, the University of San Diego, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Rhode Islands, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, and Duke University.

New Soccer Field Ushers in New Era in UVI Athletics

The ribbon is cut at UVI's new soccer field on the Albert A. Sheen Campus. Click on photos for larger view.

When Denny Smith started kicking around soccer balls in his native Dominica, he had no idea that the sport would lead to a collegiate athletic career. Fast forward about a decade and Smith is co-captain of UVI's men's soccer team. On Oct. 4, the junior computer science major led his team to home game victory in the school's inaugural soccer match on the new league-certified field on the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix. Smith scored the two goals that lead to UVI's 2-0 win over Polytecnica University of Puerto Rico. In the riveting game, Smith was assisted by co-captain Kimani George in the first goal and by Ismail S. Yusuf in the second. Goal keeper Jahidi Gussie made an impressive seven saves.

“It felt good playing in front of our home fans for once,” he said. He added that the game was tough, as both teams were playing on a regulation-sized field – which is larger than any they've ever played on. “It's the best field that I've ever played on,” Smith said.

“We should be proud of this,” said UVI's Interim Athletic Director Curtis Gilpin. “This is ours and is a first of many firsts,” he added. “I'm looking forward to all the matches – whether with the LAI or international games – because we have the only certified soccer field in the territory.” LAI - Liga Atletic Interuniversitaria – is the intercollegiate association of which UVI is a member. The soccer match also marked the first time a LAI game of any sport was played on the Sheen Campus.

The soccer field is located adjacent to the campus’ outdoor tennis and basketball courts. UVI hopes to host international teams from throughout the Caribbean and the world. 

Bucs teammates gather around Denny Smith for a selfie 

just after he scored the first goal on UVI's new, league-approved 

soccer field on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014.

The field was a long-time coming for the institution.  UVI started a LAI soccer program in 2011, led by Coach Johannes Worede. Initially scheduled to come on-line in Fall 2012, the field was delayed because heavy rains disrupted several processes. Then issues with top seeding called for hydro seeding to be redone.

Funded primarily by funds from the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, the field was completed in 2013. However, divots and other minor issues kept the field from receiving initial certification and seeing any play. The delay meant that all UVI Men's Soccer games had to be played on the road – an additional challenge for a budding soccer team.

But on Oct. 4, the excitement was high and UVI pride was evident. About 100 people from the UVI community and the community at-large gathered on the field to witness the historic moment.

“We are here to unveil the best soccer field in the Virgin Islands,” UVI President Dr. David Hall said at the ribbon cutting ceremony that was held before the inaugural game. “Athletics on this campus is moving to another level,” he said. Dr. Hall also noted UVI's newly hired full-time Head Coach Dr. David Santesteban. “We are so glad that he's going to be guiding our young men and the athletic program on (St. Croix),” Dr. Hall said, noting a similar arrangement with the basketball program on St. Thomas. “This is a new era for us and for these young men.”

Buccaneer soccer team poses after the inaugural homegame on St. Croix.

Coach Santesteban said he couldn't ask for a better inaugural game. “We got support from everyone,” Santesteban said, noting the eager players and the administrators who worked hard to get the field LAI-certified. “What they did here is second to none,” Santesteban said. “They have raised the level.”

The 2014 Buccaneers feature a 15 man roster, with five from the St. Thomas Campus and 10 from the Sheen Campus. Team members are Jordan Atemazem, Maxwell Daniels, Garfield Ferdinand, co-captain Kimani George, Jahidi Gussie, Damien James, Gejae Jeffers, Peter Oculien, Gilbert Roberts, Christopher Rosario, co-captain Denny Smith, Caleb Tavernier, Josiah Telesford, Ismail H. Yusuf and Ismail S. Yusuf.

In their introduction on the field, each member of both teams was escorted by young players from the VI Soccer Association Youth players and the AYSO Youth players. The children received soccer balls from UVI. President Hall heralded them as the next generation of UVI soccer players, to cheers from their parents. 

Nereida Washington, director of Campus Operations on St. Croix, said the field is for all students. “It was developed with an eye toward delivering physical education classes that will help enhance the athletic opportunities for all our students,” she said. 

While the University's goal is for long-term success for the athletic and soccer programs, Smith's goals are more immediate. He plans to lead the team to more wins and into the league playoffs. And given the team’s make up, it is possible.

“This is the strongest team we've had in the past three years,” Smith said.