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This Week We Feature Young Professional Kayron N. Todman
He is not yet 30 but has accomplished a lot in his life. This week’s young professional is Kayron M. Todman, who is an avid musician and teacher.
The Grade 3 teacher at Leonora Delville Primary school gives us an insight into his life and his goals for the future.
“Firstly, I just want to say that by the time I am 40 I will hope to be a Principal at one of the schools in the Territory, and enter politics,” the easy-going young man said with a smile.
In his sixth year in the teaching profession, Todman disclosed that he loves every moment of it and entered the teaching profession because he thought it was one of the best ways to interact with students and be a role model for young males in the Virgin Islands. In the teaching profession there are not much males, so he took it upon himself to join the profession to set an example.
“You know it’s funny because at one time when I was in high school [then BVI High School], I thought of becoming a History teacher but by the time I graduated in 2005 I wanted to get into the Horticulture field,” he recalled.
But cognizant of the fact that studying agriculture would offer limited education and job opportunities in the VI, the young professional jumped on the bandwagon when he was given the option to teach at Ebenezer Thomas Primary in Sea Cows Bay.
According to Todman, he spent four years there before being transferred to Leonora Delville, and at the moment he is teaching the core subject to his students, that is, Mathematics, English, Social Studies, Health Education and Science.
The proud Sea Cows Bay resident believes that entering the profession has benefited him morally since he is more in tune with the needs of the “impressionable” young minds.
And already armed with an Associate in Elementary Education from the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC), Todman has already begun pursuing a Bachelors of Arts in Education focusing in Sociology from the University of the West Indies.
He is part of the batch of the 20/20 Vision initiative which is spearheaded by the Ministry of Education.
Moreover, when he gets the chance he would take some of the young men from the community to the movies, fishing, to the beach or just to grab that all favourite pizza.
“I try to instil in them that education is key. Some of them have dropped out of school but I advise them not to let that deter them. I usually advise them that they need to learn self-respect and have pride in themselves, more so in the country,” the young teacher stated.
Todman, who describes himself as a humble and trustworthy individual, also has a soft spot for music specifically the traditional music of the Virgin Islands - fungi music. Todman plays various musical instruments like the saxophone, piano, guitar, banjo, steelpan, bass guitar, banjo and various percussion instruments.When asked what propelled him to that genre of entertainment, the young professional with a grin replied, “I grew up with my grandparents – Iva and Realdis. I am all old school; I grew up raising goats, making coal pits, farming, fishing and listening to fungi.”
He is the founding member of the popular Razor Bladez that comprises a talented group of men from the Sea Cows Bay community. Prior to the Razor Bladez, this young professional is still part of the Lashing Dogs, the Gospel Fungi and the Originals.
“Hey I just love the music! And I thought why not a bunch of us young guys keep the culture alive,” he remembered. What started out as serenading folks in the community; has now blossomed into many gigs, with Todman being one of the lead singers.
“This month is our one year anniversary, and to be honest I never thought we would get this far. Just last week, we had to play at three events during the weekend,” he revealed.
According to the multi-talented Virgin Islander, the rapport among the band members is “awesome” and writing the humorous lyrics is a breeze. “And I guess people love to see young men perform, that is why we are so successful.”
So why call the band Razor Bladez? The young professional smiling said, “Well about that, the members of Lashing Dogs heard us and declared that we were sharp as razors hence the name.”
Currently, 13 members are in the group, and Todman divulged that by next year an album will be released.
And when he is not at his job or with the band, this young professional goes out fishing and admitted he is a sports fanatic. He plays basketball, table tennis, volleyball, American football, softball and badminton.
Todman is also involved in several community committees. He’s a steel pan coordinator for Sea Cows Bay; a member of the 3rd district committee; a member of the Sea Cows Bay sports committee and a Youth Minister and acolyte for the Episcopal Church among others.
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