Tonya M. Bertie-Phillip started her teaching career some 13 years ago after graduating from high school and was in and out of the profession for a few years as she pursued to qualify herself further. She is currently a Grade 4 teacher at the Isabella Morris Primary School and has also taught at the Leonora Delville Primary School.

For Mrs. Bertie-Phillip, teaching over the years has been a wonderful experience for her and one of her self-gratifications is seeing students who she would have taught many years ago elevating themselves through education. She said it gives her great pleasure to see some of her former students returning to the Virgin Islands after being away to pursue studies such as Law and Nursing.

Our Young Professional made it clear, however, that teaching is a 24-hour job that does not end in the classroom as there are always lesson plans to be done and the teacher has to be constantly thinking of innovative ways of getting the information in the best way possible over to the students. Apart from that, a teacher is also a mother, a counsellor and a friend to students. According to Bertie-Phillip, a teacher must also be able to exercise a lot of patience when dealing with certain students.

But over 13 years ago, Mrs. Bertie-Phillip would have never envisioned herself in a classroom full of pupils rather she probably saw herself in a salon filled with adults and it had nothing to do with teaching. “I wanted to be a hairdresser and then I told myself I wanted to be a psychologist like by sister.”

She said all that changed when she attended a summer programme where the participants were made to teach actual students. “Teaching at the Summer programme nudged me into an educational path because I got to interact one on one with students and also learned how to exercise and deal with them in a proper manner. They were also very entertaining and funny. “Kids say the darnest things" is sometimes so true. Not a day goes by when they don't make me think that I chose the right profession. They also ask questions that keep you investigating and researching so that you can assist them in their educational growth.”

She would then start her teaching career at the Isabella Morris Primary School in 1998 before attending the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) from 2000-2003 where she attained an Associate’s Degree in Education. Following a year at the Leonora Delville Primary, Mrs. Bertie-Phillip left the Virgin Islands for Barry University in Miami, Florida where after three years she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education with ESOL Endorsement, which means she is certified to teach English as a second language. She said the latter has been particularly beneficial to her since the elementary school has been having an influx of students of various nationalities who struggle with the English Language.

Mrs. Bertie-Phillips is a product of the Leonora Delville Primary School and the Elmore Stoutt High School. She also attended a boarding school, Caribbean Union College (CUC) in Trinidad and Tobago for two years. Our dedicated Young Professional is not quite yet finished with studying as she wishes to pursue a Masters Degree in Speech Pathology, which she hopes to do so at the University of Central Florida. According to Bertie-Phillip, there are lots of children with speech impediments that she would like to help but noted that her service would not be limited to children as she would desire to offer speech therapy to persons affected by stroke and other ailments. She said it may not necessarily mean an exit from the teaching profession as she could work with persons in and out of schools.

Mrs. Bertie-Phillip is also one of the tutors for the Adult Education Programme that is being done at the Elmore Stoutt High School. She teaches Social Studies there. The Let's Get it educational programme on television is also fortunate to have a committed teacher as Mrs. Bertie-Phillip.

The young VIslander admitted, however, that the profession could be challenging at times. She lamented too that presently there are clear indicators that parents are not giving as much attention to the academic life of their children as they should. She says though she has been working to have more interaction with parents in order to encourage them to pay more attention to their children. She recommends too that the education system have more technology and that there be a special Needs Education Programme in the primary schools as there are a number of children who have problems such as ADHD and Dyslexia.

With all the extra work that Mrs. Bertie Phillip engages herself in, spare time is limited but whenever she does find it she enjoys travelling. She also said she likes to sing and was once a part of the choir at the Carrot Bay 7th Day Adventist Church. Family time is also important to our Young Professional, who wedded a year ago.

Her favourite quote is taken from a Chinese proverb "I see and I forget, I hear and I remember, I do and I understand”. Her inspiration she says mostly comes from her mother Jennifer Cameron-Bertie and her sister Tasha.

Bertie- Phillip advises youths to work hard to get their education and to build on it. "Find something (career) that you love and stick to it," she says. For those that have not been able to complete high school, our Young Professional urged them to make use of the opportunities that are being given to them to make up for that such as the Adult Education Programme and the Tech-VOC programme currently being offered at HLSCC.