From left: Ria Khudan, Yukti Jagtiani, Kharl Oliver, Le-Aan Brown, Arianny Espinosa.
PHILIPSBURG--Five University of St. Martin (USM) students came together last Wednesday to perform for the more than eighty persons who attended the annual Caribbean Aviation Meetup, the largest and most significant international conference for airlift stakeholders in the Caribbean region.
The dancers were students and expectant graduates of the Business, Hospitality and Tourism Management, and General Liberal Arts Associate programmes offered at USM.
The students showcased a dance to the new jingle that USM started promoting recently. USM Marketing and Admissions Specialist Mitsha Shobhan Giterson, who was recently mandated to increase student activity, said: “It is crucial that we focus on our current student experience and allow our students to not only express themselves outside of the academic setting, but showcase some of the island’s finest culture through dance.”
Students’ being a part of any club on campus highlights their chances when applying to other universities to continue their studies. It also allows the students to utilise different skills that they can implement throughout.
Giterson is “ecstatic” with the students’ level of motivation, dedication and perseverance that resulted in “a grand performance.” She complimented Kharl Oliver, who she said has continuously shown great pride in being a USM student. “He choreographed the dance and took great leadership with preparing the performance by meeting and teaching the other dancers who all had rigorous schedules.”
Oliver and USM Student Government Association team leader Ria Khudan collaborated for the performance. Khudan is a very active member in the community who recently applied the knowledge gained in her USM Drama Production class to serve as a stage director for the recent play “The Wedding Chronicles.”
Le-Aan Brown, Arianny Espinosa, and Yukti Jagtiani who are also active in their respective communities, were the other dancers who represented USM as the first members of the new dance group.
USM Dean of Academics Dr. Rolinda Carter said, “This moment holds a lot of significance to it because of the story that goes along with it. I would like to congratulate our admission and marketing specialist who has the student experience at heart. Many thanks and congratulations to our students who rose to the occasion and had their debut in the eyes of the public. Your motivation to contribute and push USM forward speaks volumes.”
The USM student clubs and activities are a start to a fresh semester ahead. Persons interested in enrolling for the 2019 Fall semester are encouraged to submit their applications before July 8.
