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| Che-Raina Warner Speaking |
Che-Raina Warner, the undefeated pageant queen, is this year’s class speaker on the St Thomas Campus. Also known for her work as a tutor in the Center for Student Success, Warner is excited to deliver this year’s commencement address to the graduating class of 2018.
Though mostly known for her success in pageantry, Warner is a scholar student who received the Chairperson’s award for excellence in Communication and earned a position on the dean’s list every semester since her enrollment at UVI.
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| Graduates Celebrating |
Warner, originally from St. Kitts-Nevis, will graduate summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with honors. She attributes her success at UVI to the overwhelming support and encouragement she received from her friends and family in St. Kitts. According to Warner she had no choice but to excel and place her country above self.
“Hailing from the Federation of St. Kitts-Nevis, I was motivated simply by the mere idea that our twin island federation has great expectations for its people to dominate wherever we go and that has propelled me to do nothing short of making my country proud,” said Warner.
She was crowned Miss UVI in 2016 and went onto win the Miss UVI Ambassadorial Title and the National Black College Alumni (NBCA) Hall of Fame Title also in 2016. Warner is only the second student to win the national crown in UVI’s history. She said winning these titles meant juggling assignments, classes and ambassadorial duties in which she had to gain a certain mental balance.
“While I cannot say that I have absolutely mastered the art of balance, I was often times comforted by the words of my classmates who were amazed at how I managed to stay focused,” Warner said. “Although it was a very challenging period for me, I take pride in having been a motivation to some student who felt that his plate was too full and he couldn't manage.”
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| 2018 Graduates |
She also became involved on her campus beyond pageantry by working in the university’s Public Relations Office as well as a radio host at WUVI – the school’s student ran radio station.
“I’ve never known myself in all my schooling years to merely go to school,” said Warner. “School for me meant being immersed in a host of extra-curricula activities.”
