The corporate offices of Target, Wal-Mart and Philip Morris are all recruiting Athaliah Edwards, and the University of the Virgin Islands student has not yet received her degree. Edwards, a UVI senior majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing, has also received job offers from the Gallup Organization and Croscill Home. She has chosen to work at Phillip Morris USA, Inc.

Most of the job offers started pouring in after Edwards was named UVI's 2007-2008 Student Ambassador to the Thurgood Marshall Leadership Institute. She was required to upload her resume to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund database. After a process of elimination, Edwards has accepted the position of Territorial Sales Manager at Philip Morris.

"I am so excited. I think it is a wonderful opportunity," Edwards said about the job offer. "So far all of my interactions with the company have been positive." Edwards will be based in New Jersey where she will oversee fifteen retailers. The job includes an extensive benefits package and a company car.

Edwards is completing her last semester at UVI. "This is the lightest semester of all my years (at UVI). I only have four classes," said Edwards, who has taken an 18 credit-hour load since she was a freshman. A UVI student is considered full-time with 12 credit-hours. Because of the lighter load Edwards has taken on two part-time jobs, along with her steady job at Royal Caribbean.

A stellar student, Edwards was recently inducted into the Golden Key International Honour Society. She also received the Bette Worley Student Achievement Award from the National Student Exchange (NSE) program. Edwards spent two semesters as an exchange student at the Plattsburgh State University of New York. There she impressed professors and deans with her positive attitude and strong work ethic.

"Athaliah Edwards is a rare and outstanding individual who contributed as much, or more, to our campus as she benefited from her studies here," Dr. Nancy J. Church, the University's chair of the Marketing and Entrepreneurship wrote. "She is bright, ambitious, personable, articulate, organized and energetic. Athaliah Edwards was a marvelous ambassador for her university and her country, and we were honored to have her study at SUNY Plattsburgh," Dr. Church said.

At SUNY Plattsburgh Edwards was inducted into the Alpha Mu Alpha National Marketing Honor Society, served as vice president of the State Collegiate American Marketing Association and served as co-chair of the Plattsburgh 21st Annual Champy Advertising Awards. She also completed an internship at Croscill Home and worked part time.

"I got involved in so many things," Edwards said of her year on exchange. "I wanted to see what campus life was like." Along with academic activities, she also participated in the student Caribbean organization, played team rugby and was on two dance teams.

"Athaliah is a strong student with a lot of motivation," said Lindsey Pashow, SUNY Plattsburgh NSE coordinator. "She is the most determined and hardworking student that I've met while working in this position," Pashow continued.

Edwards encourages UVI students to take initiative in every opportunity they have. "UVI has so much to offer. It's just about the students seeing the opportunities and taking initiative," said Edwards. She spent the summer after her freshman year in Paris with a group of UVI students who completed the French 231 course in France.

"My time at UVI has been really rewarding. If I had to do it over, I would do it exactly the same way." Edwards will graduate in May. Her assignment at Philip Morris begins in June.