This week we feature Young Professional Kristol A. Penn
It’s amazing when you are trying to avoid something but end up in that same position. Coming from a line of teachers, our Young Professional wanted to be more; more than just the traditional teacher. But as life works, she was led down that path blinded, loved it and stayed with it. Today we introduce Kristol A. Penn, Virgin Islander and Primary School Spanish teacher at Francis Lettsome and Willard Wheatley Primary Schools.
Such an inspiration to many, the story of her life clearly emanates the spirit of hard work, determination, and never giving up.
According to Ms. Penn, she suffered from epilepsy as a child, which forced her to miss significant amounts of time in high school and college, but through it all, she managed to persevere and become a conqueror; she simply never gave up.
Despite her sickness, she never held it as an excuse; she made it a top priority to finish whatever she started and graduated from high school and college.
As a graduate of Isabella Morris Primary School, she attended the BVI High School from 1995 and graduated from Five Arts in the year 2000. She then attended the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College from 2000-2003, where she completed an Associate’s Degree program in General Studies with a concentration in English.
Right after college, she travelled overseas to attend Hampton University in Virginia from 2003-06, where she earned her Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Spanish and a minor in English. During her time at Hampton University, she also completed a semester with the University of Salamanca in Spain in 2005. She recently earned her Master’s Degree in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language from the University of Alcala in Spain (online).
As said earlier, Ms. Penn was never interested in becoming a teacher, “In no way shape or form, did I want to be a teacher, I have many family members, including my mother, who are teachers and I never wanted to do it because I saw the work that went into it, but God had different plans for me.”
She added “When I went to college I really didn’t know what to do, but I knew I liked Spanish and English so that is what I did. During my semester in Spain, I had to teach spanish students English as part of my internship , and it came naturally. It was something I fell into easily and I realized that this is my calling, this is what I should do, because I loved it.”
Ms. Penn has been a teacher working for the Virgin Islands Government since 2006.
Our Young Professional said, she loves being a teacher; being the one who is partly responsible for shaping the future. In her words, “It’s a joy and a blessing.”
“Teaching is the fabric of my being. Every moment I see is a teachable moment . It’s a complete joy for me to impart new ideas and new ways of doing things to people, especially to my students.”
She added that in this rapidly developing country, there is a stigma against learning foreign languages, but “acquiring more than one languages are essential in the world today and my job is to foster a love for that.”
Although one of her major challenges growing up was suffering from epilepsy, she continued to put her faith in God and never let it hinder her. She happily informed this news site that thanks to God, she is now healed from epilepsy and doesn’t suffer from it any more. Ms. Penn also added that she looks up to God and her entire family for always being her constant support.
Accepting her role as a foreign language teacher whose native tongue is English, she strongly believes in developing herself, so she occasionally plans trips and attends classes in different Spanish speaking countries to always be “on top of my game. I don’t ever want my students’ knowledge to become stagnated because of me so I am always in learning mode.”
Other than work she enjoys reading and singing, she is an active member of the H. Lavity Stout Memorial Choir.
Along with teaching she is also an entrepreneur/business owner of a recently launched business called Sageroots, which she operates with three other family members. The business provides naturally made hair and skin products and hair accessories which are available in Clovers and on facebook.
Looking back, our Young Professional said she is glad about where her life is and there is nothing she would ever change, “I would never stop teaching in whatever capacity I may find myself in.”
She encourages young Virgin Islanders to keep God in the centre of everything they do and that will promote excellence.
She also added, “Surround yourself with positive people and influences and in so doing, you will leave no space for negativity. Always strive to be a better person than you were the day before.”
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23 Responses to “This week we feature Young Professional Kristol A. Penn”
I am extremely proud of you! Above your accomplishments it's your heart and amazing personality that makes my heart smile. I remember your struggle with epilepsy while we were classmates, but you never gave up; you were a bigger fighter than many of us were. I love you, from one October 16 born to another!