Alphea Browne, currently a senior accounting major at the University of the Virgin Islands, realized that there was a great opportunity for students involved with professional associations while she was at The Washington Center for Internships and Seminars last fall. Surrounded by the bustle of professional networking, she remembered that just before she left St. Kitts for UVI, the president of UVI’s St. Kitts Alumni Association suggested that she join the National Association of Black Accounts (NABA). She tried, but found the organization to be inactive. So she reached out to one of her professors, Dr. Dion Gouws, who encouraged her to revamp NABA at UVI.
“When students become members of professional organizations, they gain access to all sorts of information about scholarships, internships and job opportunities,” said Browne. “But you can’t join unless your college or university is an active member, and that puts you at a big disadvantage in terms of being nationally and internationally competitive.”
Browne reached out to people at NABA who explained that UVI would have to regain its title. Determined, she recruited fellow accounting students Hakim Potter, Candice Samuel, Joya Gustine and Damien James to form the UVI Accounting and Business Professionals Association, which would complete the leg work. It was a long and sometimes tedious process, but Browne and her team persisted and now the National Association of Black Accountants is an active organization at UVI once again. This story, as well as other current features, is available from a link on the UVI homepage slide show – http://www.uvi.edu.