This Week We Feature Young Professional T’ya E. Peters
This week, the spotlight is turned on Miss T’ya E. Peters, a young Virgin Islands native, who has already etched her name as someone unafraid to follow her heart, living by the motto 'Do it afraid'.
Educated first at the BVI Seventh-day Adventist School before transferring to the Francis Lettsome Primary School, T’ya showed promise very early.
She graduated in 2015 in the top five in the graduating class and then enrolled at Elmore Stoutt High School.
T'ya graduated with honours and accomplished this feat even while being enrolled at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College. "I did both English and Mathematics there.”
She also won the Inter-Secondary Impromptu Speech Competition in 2021/2022.
Social Media, Content Creation, Digital Marketing
T’ya says she has always had a keen interest and passion for content creation.
“When I was younger, like in high school, junior high, I used to create videos, like vlogs and then edit them and send them to my friends for them to watch.”
During the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020, the self-taught editor said she began recording more videos and with the encouragement of friends, she began posting to her YouTube Channel.
This led to an increase in followers and the opportunity to become a brand ambassador namely Eclipse and Digicel.
“I began promoting for local small businesses on the island.”
Her ultimate goal she said is to become a Digital Marketer and she is currently enrolled in an online program to become certified in the field.
“So I can expand the horizon in terms of social media. I've noticed that there's a huge gap with businesses here and social media. There are lots of small businesses that lack social media presence… since it's such an area that's lacking, it would be an opportunity for me to help other businesses expand.”
To those who may have a negative connotation to social media, T’ya said, “We have to understand the importance of digital footprint.”
The Virgin Islands she said is not entirely “educated” on the positives of social media adding that it is all about intentions.
“I feel like it's all about intention and knowing how important digital footprint is.”
While currently very present and active on TikTok, T’ya said she wants to return to YouTube as that is where she began.
Once certified, she intends to build her clientele and create courses for other young people to gain knowledge about the importance of a digital footprint.
“It literally affects postings in the longer run, because we can track back things you've posted from 2019 or even 2009, and it could stop you from getting a job or reaching to places where you want to be. ”
T’ya also models and has been freelancing as a model since 2020. She joined Royal Promotions in 2022 and has been given a lot of opportunities while working with them.
Leo Club of Tortola
T’ya joined the Leo Club of Tortola, following an invite to a meeting in 2023. Since joining she has been elected as President of the club, now serving her second consecutive term.
“It's been a journey because I've never been a part of like a community service organization.”
Though the club was stagnant for some time and there were challenges with revamping it, T’ya said, “We created some sort of impact.”
Youth Forum & Legislative Changes
T’ya is one of the founders of the Youth Forum in the VI.
During the 2023 Youth Forum, attended by Premier Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) and other government officials, T’ya presented on sexual assault and rape prevention.
During her presentations, she put forth having a sexual offender registry as one of the solutions.
Earlier this year she said, Minister for Health and Social Development Hon Vincent O. Wheatley (R9) personally delivered the good news to her that this registry is in the works.
“He came to my job at National Bank, and he spoke with me and said that they're actually moving forward with my suggestion.So, hopefully throughout the year…it would be fully established and implemented.”
When asked how she feels about being a driving force behind such a big move, she said it made her feel amazing and empowered.
“After that forum, the group kind of died down because we were like we're not seeing any changes happening, but changes were actually happening behind the scenes. We just weren't aware of it.”
The mission now is to transform the Youth Forum and also re-establish the Youth Parliament.
With the Youth Parliament functioning, T’ya said they can better assist with policy change.
Have a clear vision & do it scared
T’ya advises other young people to have a clear vision of their goals and to write them down, including the steps needed to get there.
“Planning is extremely important. You could have a goal, but you have to have the exact plan in order to get to the goal.”
She added that people should not be afraid of what people have to say.
“If you want to do something, just go ahead and do it. Do it scared…that's something that sticks with me… Just do it scared because there's so much good that could come out of your decisions.”
T'ya can be found on social media at https://beacons.ai/_tyaa.e.
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