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a A a student attending the University of the Virgin Islands, do you remember your days being carefree or do you remember an endless stream of deadlines and papers? UVI alum- nus Kwesi Howard ‘01, remem- bers both. Howard was one of three alumni panelist who shared their UVI experiences at UVI’s 51st Charter Day ceremony in March. Now a deputy U.S. mar- shal, Howard was nicely dressed in a suit and tie, at the event held in the Administration and Con- ference Center. A sharp contrast to the basketball jersey he wore as a member of UVI’s basketball team. Howard said when he en- tered UVI he had no idea what he wanted to do for a living. “I had terrible study habits,” he said. “I would come to class and shoot from the hip. I guess I had good genes. I passed the tests.” Howard remembered _ initially going to a lot of parties and even participating in balloon fights on Kwesi Howard, lefi, and Quincy Quinlan spoke on St. Thomas JUNE -2013 Nomaalleall ¢ is campus, but he also remembered that he was challenged with ex- ams and lengthy term papers. “I see challenges as opportunities for growth and UVI will chal- lenge you,” said Howard. “When you're challenged you have to learn not to quit.” He was soon able to get his act together and make the Dean’s List. The other panelists were Arthur Richards Junior High School Principal Kurt Vialet ‘87, ‘92 and UVI Data Spe- cialist Aimee Sanchez ‘10 who spoke from the Great Hall on St. Croix’s Albert A. Sheen Campus, and attorney and UVI Rhodes Scholar Quincy Quin- lan ‘84 who spoke from the St. Thomas campus. The event was video-conferenced between both UVI campuses. “This place is a tremendous place,” said Quinlan. “It allowed 1 me to spread my wings in a way that I did not think was possible.” He said it was at UVI that he was able to achieve sustained excel- lence. “One of the things I learned at UV is that opportunity strikes when you least expect it, and you have to be prepared in advance,” Quinlan said. Originally from St. Kitts, Quinlan was exposed to people from the wider Carib- bean and the mainland for the first time, and soon learned he had much to do to raise his level of excellence. “I learned if you’re going to be great you have to strive for greatness,” he said. “From this place anything is possible.” Vialet, a St. Croix native, remi- nisced about his college days. “My UVI days were perhaps some of my most exciting days in my life,” he said. Vialet recalled continued on next page Kurt Vialet and Aimee Sanchez spoke on St. Croix We asked UVI Alumni on Facebook to identify their favorite professor. This is what they said: Dr. Dion E. Phillips by far. He was ... my sociology professor. He was knowledgeable, astute, a good communicator, never forced attendance, but you knew that you didnt want to miss his classes because there was so much to learn. Never felt threatened if'you questioned his views. Just a good professor. One of CVI/ BA 1986, St. Thomas Campus “Professor Gene K. Emanuel... Humanities. ..knowledgeable, well versed... Didnt just lecture for the entire class. He had a unique way of teaching that his students wanted to be involved. May his soul rest in eternal peace.” — Pettie Stevens “Professor Esdaille. He took his time to teach and went step by step with you. He made sure no one was left behind and took his time to teach.” — Yolande Joseph, BA 2013, St. Thomas Campus “Its a tie between Gene Emanuel and Lynn Rosenthal. Thats VI History and Computer Science respectively. Emanuels teaching method was... unorthodox, but I learned a lot. Rosenthal’ class taught me several life lessons in addition to the material.” — Hector A. Squiabro, BA 1999 and AS 2006, St . Thomas Campus