UVI Student Wins Prize at Leadership Institute

University of the Virgin Islands senior Alkin Paul was one of the top three winners of an essay contest co-sponsored by the recently concluded 2005 Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund (TMSF) Leadership Institute.

Held in New York from Nov. 5-8, the Institute aims to help students bridge their academic achievements with necessary and meaningful skills for the workplace.

The essay contest was co-sponsored by Hewlett-Packard. Paul's winning essay on the topic "How has technology contributed to your leadership development at an HBCU," netted him an HP Notebook personal computer and a digital camera.

Paul, vice president of the St. Thomas campus Student Government Association (SGA), was one of 10 UVI student leaders at the institute. The other student leaders in attendance from the St. Thomas campus were Ivan Connor, SGA president; Avalyn Goodwin, SGA treasurer; and Jay Wiltshire, student representative to the UVI Board of Trustees. Participating student leaders from the St. Croix campus were Onage Ghanie, SGA president; Tionee Veira, SGA public relations officer; William Davis McKean, TMSF scholarship recipient; Ester Perez Johnson, treasurer of Golden Key Honour Society; and Trevor Joseph, debate organizer. Miss UVI Shakima Stoutt also attended.

Scholars from the 47 TMSF member schools participated in the intensive program which included workshops on career planning, interviewing skills, and resume writing, as well as financial and credit management workshops. In addition to the leadership training, the scholars are provided interview opportunities with corporate partners and are honored at an awards dinner ceremony.