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December 18, 2009 vol xv, number 12 Events Calendar Dec. 21-Jan. 3 University Holiday Recess STT/STX Dec. 24-Jan. 3 Crucian Christmas Festival STX Jan. 4 Faculty/Staff Return STT/STX Jan. 5 English Placement Test STT/STX Jan. 6 Three Kings Day (Holiday) STT/STX Jan. 11 Start Spring ‘10 Semester STT/STX Jan. 15 Soweto Choir (Reichhold) STT Golden Key Opens Virgin Islands Season of Charity S tudent members of the UVI Golden Key Inter- national Honour Society have welcomed the season of giving. Honor society mem- bers said their faculty advi- sors provided the inspiration for a Thanksgiving clothing drive benefitting the people of Haiti. Advisors also en- couraged support of a Salva- tion Army toy drive on St. Thomas. Advisor Andrea Hamm said, “All of the donations were generously given from students, faculty and staff. So far we have 10 barrels of clothing and we had a gen- erous donation from Mia’s Fashions, a local business.” Golden Key Vice Presi- dent Ernest Smithens also thanked Berle Williams from the Central 7th Day Adventist Church of St. Croix for adding to clothing donations. He credited Business Administration Professor Dr. Solomon Kabuka for help in reaching a professor in Port-Au-Prince to accept the donations. Hamm and Smithens say barrels will be prepared for shipment after the UVI holiday recess. Society President Kwesi Williams said he’s pleased with the support being given to the St. Thomas toy drive. “They give out teddy bears to the children and it was brought to our attention by one of our advisors, Dr. Pa- tricia Hawkins-Pierre,” Wil- liams said. Golden Key leaders also expressed satisfaction with the way society members joined in. “One of my major concerns is to make a differ- ence and the way to do that is by coming together,” Smithens said. Smithens and Williams also thanked society members Kurt Alexander, Troi Williams, Keroma Pollock, Nicola Maduro, Triola Browne, Jadee Caines, Chelcy Angol, Dacil Heyliger, Keri Weeks, Campbell Douglas, Ericia Haliday, Jo-Anne Neale and Derron Ambrose for their volunteer efforts. Ringing in holiday cheer on Dec. 12 at the Holiday Gala at Divi Carina Bay Resort; from left, Yvonne Lawrence (HR - STT), Nereida Washington (Campus Administrator - STX), and Lin- da I. Smith (Alumni Affairs-Annual Giving - STX). Caroling... Members of the UVI Choir drop in on the Purchasing De- partment on the St Thomas Campus with music, song and pastries during a Dec. 11 cam- pus caroling event. GET CONNECTED TO UVI news, activities and accomplishments at . . . www.uvi.edu dateline: UVI 2 John Brewer’s Bay St. Thomas, VI 00802 dateline: UVI is a monthly publication of the UVI Public Relations Office. Contact us by telephone at (340) 693-1056 or by fax at (340) 693-1055. UVI Sophomore Wins Title of St. Croix Festival Queen A n 18-year-old sophomore from the UVI St. Croix campus has been crowned the 2009-2010 Miss St. Croix Crucian Christmas Festival Queen. The new queen, Marcellina Ventura, said she wants to use her new notoriety to keep festival goers, all motorists and pedes- trians, safe. Ventura won her title Dec. 12 during a pageant at Island Center, competing against two other contes- tants. She captured the titles of Festival Queen, Miss Intellect, Best Cultural Costume and Miss Popular- ity. At the end of the contest she was crowned by her predecessor, 2008-2009 Festival Queen Sheniqua Rob- inson, who is also a student at UVI. The new queen said she was pleased with her win and proud to represent her home island. “I love St. Croix. I’m very passionate about the island,” she said. She also said the best part of the c o m p e t i - tion, for her, was the pub- lic presenta- tion. Ventu- ra spoke out about the dangers of drunk driv- ing, which became a personal topic after the death of her best friend in a St. Croix traffic accident one year ago. One day after her victory the new festival queen was back in study mode. When she returned to the classroom, she said both teachers and students cheered her on. “I had an exam the very next day and a lot of my classmates congratulated me. They were very sup- portive,” she said. Ventura, who hopes to major in criminal justice, is the latest UVI student to win the title of St. Croix fes- tival queen. Members of the Crucian Christmas Fes- tival Queen Committee also named Robinson, Angela Martinez and Francilla Francis among their previous UVI royalty. Year-end celebrations on St. Croix and St. Thomas included well wishes for Mavis Gilchrist. Gilchrist, second from left, was feted at events on both islands to mark the end of 32 years of service to the UVI Financial Aid and other offices. UVI Sophomore Marcellina Ventura, Miss St. Croix 2009-2010. Photo: STX Festival Committee