Education Commissioner Dr. La Verne Terry on Tuesday congratulated the accomplishments of St. Croix Central High School’s (CHS) Anthropology Club of which 28 members are presently on the fifth day of a two-week tour of Ghana, Africa. The Ghana visit, organized by the school’s Anthropology Club advisor Duane Howell and the students, is a two-fold educational experience where students will have an opportunity to trace their ancestry back to families or tribes in Ghana (since many former slaves came to the Virgin Islands from Western Africa) and perform a comparison of life in Ghana to their own lives on St. Croix.
The commissioner said, “It is gratifying to witness the initiative, energy and enthusiasm displayed by the Central High School’s Anthropology Club members as they organized and prepared for their journey to Ghana. The CHS Anthropology Club spent several months hosting fundraising events to include concerts, walk-a-thons and Saturday car washes toward raising funds for the educational tour. They also solicited community support to make the excursion a reality. This is commendable and impressive. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, ‘Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.’ And it was evidently so as these students showed kind of determination that make us all proud at the Department.
“Not only will these students return with fond memories of their experience on the African continent, but the means they implemented to get there will remain an important factor that will shape them into independent young men and women who will make indelible contributions to their community. We, at the department, look forward to other student groups and organizations throughout the territory also taking initiative to make their educational wishes and dreams come true.
“May this soul-searching, fact-finding expedition to the motherland of Africa be a rewarding educational and life experience for our students. We wish the students, club advisor and other chaperones god-speed on this journey and a safe return home,” she said. The group returns home on May 11.