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dateline: UVI The monthly newsletter of The University of the Virgin Islands August 26, 2003 vol ix, number 8 Mother and Son Meet in Science Class Geron Hendrickson-Javois, an Early Admissions student on UVI’s St. Croix campus, knew that he would be seeing his mother around campus because she works at UVI. But imagine his surprise when they ended up in the same Science 100 class. “At first when I found out it was kind of weird,” Geron said. But now “it’s kind of funny.” His mother Ann-Merrie Hendrickson, an administrative assistant in the Nursing Division, has been attend- ing UVI part-time for several years. “I told him ‘don’t tell anyone I’m your mother,’” Hendrickson said jokingly with a hearty laugh, noting how her son has caught up to her in college. In fact, she is quite proud of him. “It’s nice to know that at his age, 16, he has made that big step (of attending college),” she said. “It really makes me feel proud.” Besides that good feeling, Hendrickson said she knows that her son will encourage her to excel in the course. “He humors me into remembering,” she said. Geron expects friendly competition. “We’re both going to work hard because each of us wants to get the higher grade,” he said. So far most of Geron’s peers have not realized that he and his mom are in the same class. When they find out, he expects the same reaction that his family had - shock and surprise. Geron has not yet declared a major at UVI, but plans to become a medical doctor and hopes to be accepted in the Boston University Early Medical School Selection Program. When he graduates from the St. Croix Educational Complex next June, Geron will have com- pleted his freshman year at UVI. Hendrickson said she is look- ing forward to their semester to- gether. “I expect it to be fun, yet rewarding.” Geron is one of the 281 new students on the St. Croix campus. There are 546 new students on the St. Thomas cam- pus. UVI Fall Semester classes began on August 18. Events Calendar August 26 Septic System Workshop, STX August 27 Guest Lecture, STT August 29 Fun Day & Softball Game, STX August 30 Hendricks Bay Hike, STT Sept. 3 SGA Elections, STX Sept. 5 Activities Fair, STT Sept. 5 Volleyball Tournament, STT Sept. 12 Basketball Challenge, STT Sept. 20 Sumo Wrestling, STT Geron Hendrickson-Javois, an Early Admissions stu- dent on the St. Croix campus, reviews some informa- tion with his mother and classmate Ann-Merrie Hendrickson. Both are in the same science class. Photo by Joan Marsh (From left to right) Helen Dookhan, coordinator of the Chil- dren, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) program on St. Thomas, and CYFAR Program Assistant Jacqueline Blyden pose with children at the CYFAR closing ceremony at the Tutu Hi-Rise Community Center. UVI’s Cooperative Exten- sion Service administers CYFAR programs on St. Thomas and St. Croix. Technological skills are taught to adult and youth participants. CYFAR is gearing up for the Fall Semester, which began on August 25. dateline:UVI 2 John Brewer’s Bay St. Thomas, VI 00802 GET CONNECTED TO UVI news, activities and accomplishments at . . . www.uvi.edu dateline:UVI is a production of the UVI Public Relations Office. Contact us by telephone at (340) 693-1056 FAX: (340) 693-1055 GET CONNECTED TO UVI news, activities and accomplishments at . . . www.uvi.edu The reputation of the Uni- versity of the Virgin Islands Agricultural Experiment Sta- tion on the St. Croix campus continues to expand beyond the boundaries of the Virgin Islands and the United States. The UVI-AES has been host- ing three student interns from France this summer. They are Emilie Cramet, Lucie Dromer and Perry Sebastian. The three interns learned about UVI-AES offerings via the internet. Sebastian con- tacted UVI-AES specifically because of his interest in aquaponics systems. Cramet and Dromer are sophomores majoring in food processing innovation at Quimper’s Institut Universitaire Professionannalise (IUP) Universite de Bretane Occidentale. They both have associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in biol- ogy. Sebastian attends the Institut Superieur d’Agriculture de Beauvais. He is in his second year of a five-year program that will end with a Master of Agriculture degree. “Honestly speaking, this is one of the best study/work experiences that I’ve been through,” said Sebastian. He is working specifically with the aquaculture program while Cramet and Dromer have been rotating between the various programs at UVI-AES. Sebastian estimates that his three- month work experience this summer is equivalent to one year of study. “The system is very interesting as a sustainable system,” Sebastian said of the aquaponics system developed at UVI. Students from France Intern at the AES “Aquaculture in general has a great future,” he said. Cramet and Dromer, whose university requires that they obtain work expe- riences abroad to, among other things, improve their English, have become more versed in the language. They have also been exposed to local vegetables and herbs. “We’ve discov- ered a lot of new foods and methods of planting,” Dromer said. The internship program at UVI-AES allows the students to work with the various research programs including agroforestry, agronomy, aquaculture, biotechnology, animal science, fruits, and ornamental and vegetable crops. The students are learning the different aspects of tropi- cal agriculture in a small island environment of the Carib- bean. The topics include growing vegetables, herbs and me- dicinal plants in agroforestry systems; aquaponics-integrat- ing vegetable production with aquaculture system; forage pro- duction and pasture management; hair sheep production and management; papaya and plantain production; and growing ornamental plants - flowers and shrubs. They have also vis- ited local farms where UVI-AES is conducting on-farm re- search projects. (From left to right) Emilie Cramet, Perry Sebastian and Lucie Dromer are students from France who are interning at UVI’s Agricultural Experiment Station on the St. Croix Campus. Photo By Dr. Manuel Palada