(V.I. Source Publications) – After lecturing at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) recently, Howard University Professor Afiya Fredericks stopped over at the John H. Woodson Junior High School, her alma mater, to share with students her experiences and journey towards earning a Ph.D. In her presentation, Dr. Fredericks outlined the steps she had taken to become successful and encouraged the junior high school students to follow closely in her footsteps.
During a lengthy question and answer session, she fielded enquiries about financial aid for her schooling, her diet, the car she drives and if she ever was a contestant in a beauty pageant. Asked about the relationship she has with students who were older than she is, the young Developmental Psychology professor said, “I give them the respect they deserve, and they also give me respect.”
Fredericks went on to extoll the benefits of a prudent living that has brought her to the present junction in life. She credited her mother, Myrtle Fredericks, who was sitting in the classroom, for cementing well-balanced values and virtues in her during her formative years. Her mother, a retired John H. Woodson Jr. High social studies teacher, was recruited back to the classroom to fill a critical post. Fredericks said her mother told her not to be lured by name brand clothing, fancy gizmos and fast food, and that she was never encouraged to participate in pageants. Read Full
