The University of the Virgin Islands will make history on Monday and Tuesday as the first cohort of students in the Education Specialist in School Psychology degree program graduate. It is the highest degree program at UVI. A total of 15 students on both campuses will receive this specialized degree, seven on the St. Thomas campus and eight on the St. Croix campus. The program, approved by the UVI Board of Trustees in 2002, prepares students for the profession of school psychology as defined by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) -- including consultation, behavioral intervention, psychoeducational assessment, research, program evaluation and counseling.

UVI will confer a total of 353 degrees. Please see the statistics for each campus.

Numbers of degrees to be conferred on the St. Thomas campus:

• Education Specialist -- 7
• Master of Arts in Education -- 18
• Master of Business Administration -- 9
• Master of Public Administration -- 5
• Bachelor of Science -- 43
• Bachelor of Arts -- 104
• Associate of Science -- 5
• Associate of Arts -- 29

Total number of degrees on the St. Thomas campus -- 220

Number of degrees to be conferred on the St. Croix campus:

• Education Specialist -- 8
• Master of Arts in Education -- 11
• Master of Business Administration -- 5
• Master of Public Administration -- 2
• Bachelor of Science -- 3
• Bachelor of Arts -- 62
• Associate of Applied Science -- 9
• Associate of Science -- 5
• Associate of Arts -- 28

Total number of degrees on the St. Croix campus -- 133

The following students earned the highest Grade Point Averages in the UVI Class of 2006.

St. Thomas Campus

Crystal L. Lezama is the undergraduate student on the St. Thomas campus with the highest GPA. She will earn a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration/Marketing and an Associate of Arts in Business Management. Celina D. Morris is the graduate student on the St. Thomas campus with the highest GPA. Morris will earn a Master of Arts in Education degree.

St. Croix Campus

Shamaira G. Figueroa is the undergraduate student on the St. Croix campus with the highest GPA. She will earn a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting degree. On the St. Croix campus three graduate students tied for the highest GPA. They are Vanda Espinosa, Jasmine French-Thomas and Daisy Lindqvist Pelovitz. All will earn a Master of Arts in Education degree.

Other interesting graduates:

Jomo Richardson -- First to Earn BS from UVI and Columbia University

Jomo Richardson will be the first graduate of a collaboration program between UVI and Columbia University where he will earn Bachelor of Science degrees from both universities. Through this unique five-year program Richardson spent his first three years at UVI and the remaining two years at Columbia University in New York. He will graduate from the St. Thomas campus.

Monsita Diaz and Paul Ruiz -- Mother and Son Graduates

When Paul Ruiz graduated from high school in 2003 he had no plans of attending college, but his mother knew best. Monsita Diaz, already a UVI student on the St. Croix campus, attended a UVI Open House on the St. Croix campus where she enrolled him in the Process Technology Program. "I registered him, got his books and told him 'classes begin tomorrow,'" Diaz recalls.

Her son obliged, scheduling his work hours as a baggage agent around his classes. Now three years later, Ruiz and his mother will graduate together. Ruiz will graduate with his Associate of Applied Science in Process Technology degree while Diaz will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and an Associate of Arts degree in Business Management. Ruiz is currently employed by HOVENSA.

Diaz, a V.I. Medical Institute, Inc. employee, can't contain her elation. "Oh my God I'm excited," she said. "I can't wait until Tuesday." To add to the excitement, Diaz's daughter will graduate from high school in June.

Daryl Edwards -- Will Earn Fifth Degree from UVI

Daryl Edwards loves to learn. He earned his first degree - a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work - from the St. Thomas campus of the then College of the Virgin Islands in 1980. After working at the V.I. Department of Labor for several years he decided that he needed "a change." He returned to UVI to study accounting. In 1999 he earned an Associate's degree in Accounting. In 2001 he earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Computer Information Systems. In 2002 he earned a Bachelor's degree in Accounting. On Monday he'll earn a Master of Business Administration.

Edwards encourages others to take advantage of the educational options at UVI. "I don't regret it," the SBDC Business Counselor said modestly of his five degrees. "I'll go out on a limb and say this definitely will be my last degree from UVI," Edwards said.