Jewels of the Virgin Isles is a feature series profiling Virgin Islanders in the diaspora who are excelling in their respective fields and/or positively representing the USVI abroad.
She is a “Jane” of many trades who has mastered them all – professor, business advisor, real estate developer, academic researcher and writer – a habitual entrepreneur. With an adventurous spirit, a strong faith and the love of her family, Sharon Simmons (nee Matthews) is fulfilling her dreams one day at a time.
A product of the Virgin Islands public and parochial school system, Simmons established her educational foundation at Nisky School (now Ulla F. Muller Elementary School), Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School and Charlotte Amalie High School, from which she graduated in 1987 at the age of 16.
Various professional interests resulted in Simmons obtaining a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Hampton University, a law degree and master’s in tax from the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D. in entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises from Syracuse University.
She is now a professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at William Paterson University and continues to feed her entrepreneurial side as a consultant on the U.S. mainland and in the Virgin Islands.
Simmons credits her business savvy to working with her mother, local chef Mary (Ms. Lillian) Matthews, in her Frenchtown restaurant Café Normandie as a young child. She parlayed this experience into a fruitful career with one of the world’s largest public accounting firms. “By age 11, I was the unofficial bookkeeper for my mother’s restaurant, hence the accounting degree; however, in my last year of college, a recruiter told me that I would double my salary as a tax accountant if I got a law degree, so back to school I went,” she explains.
For Simmons, her corporate path was paved with both tough challenges and high rewards. “I became a national senior tax manager in a public accounting firm at a time when you could count the African-American tax senior managers in the firm on one hand, but great mentors allowed me to become a corporate entrepreneur and chart my course,” she says.
However, Simmons desired to be an educator and chose that path once her daughter was born. Getting the Ph.D. was an easy choice, and now she is an entrepreneur and a professor, skillfully bringing all of the things she enjoys together under one roof.
As a professor, she provides students from all over the world with theories and hands-on experience at starting and running sustainable businesses. “I take the opportunity every chance I get to use my talents, gifts, skills and resources to pay it forward, not back,” says Simmons, who considers herself a member of the University of the Virgin Islands extended family. The university even asked her to create the syllabus for and design its introductory entrepreneurship course and she agreed without hesitation.
At William Paterson University, Simmons is busy turning students into real world entrepreneurs through the campuswide business concept competition that she coordinates annually. “I am honored that this state university with a student body of over 11,000 students would entrust me to build their entrepreneurship program” she says.
Simmons has a love affair with the Virgin Islands. Although she resides in New Jersey with her husband, Al, and her daughter, Joia, she will tell anyone within earshot that the Virgin Islands is where her extended family resides and where she gets a lot of her inspiration. “I love the connectivity of the people,” she says, adding that she considers the extended Café Normandie family from Frenchtown as her very own.
Some of her family includes Sebastian’s Restaurant; Hook, Line, and Sinker; Betsy’s Bar; and others. She even has a “family” picture in front of the old Café Normandie in her office to this day.
Her immediate family is the real source of her inspiration, she says. “My husband and I were best friends in college and our strong friendship still remains to this day.” She also praises her dad for his example in how to enjoy the simple things in life. “For dad, a bush tea and a 6 a.m. loaf of bread from Weekes Bakery continue to give him tremendous pleasure, so I reflect on him when I am conflicted by money and values in the business world to remember the simple things in life.”
She also praises her mother as the spark to her entrepreneurial spirit. “What Mom’s instilled in me is the belief in a life without boundaries or excuses. This great woman, whose first job on St. Thomas was a hotel housekeeper, started a business that she sustained successfully for over 30 years, while grooming all of her six children to become their own success stories. So I reflect on her when I feel tired and need inspiration to keep it stepping.”
As for the Virgin Islands, Simmons says that in her youth, the community was a happier, brighter place. “We don’t laugh together as much anymore,” she reflects. “I suspect it is because we have different struggles with the high cost of living today.”
As the solution, she hopes that the territory will embrace forward-thinking projects that will spur micro enterprises throughout the islands. “It’s hard to not wear my professorial hat on this subject. Entrepreneurship is a great way to create security and peace of mind for all residents so that we can feel like laughing and being optimistic again,” she says.
This consummate professional understands that her achievements are the result of a collective effort to pace herself in order to do the very best at all times – and to seek the help of like-minded individuals who can keep her afloat when things get tough.
While the end of her journey is still being fulfilled, Simmons sways she is sure about the following: 1) she is on the right path; 2) she is where she is supposed to be currently because she has laughter in her life; 3) her extended family fuels her every step; and 4) she would not be here without the individuals that saw fit to mentor her, such as her first grade teacher Ms. Rene Kean, who sent her $5 in a birthday card every year until she graduated from law school.
A Nugget for V.I. Youth: “When I see an opportunity to better myself or my family, I grab on to it and I work it – no boundaries. So when you can, take the driver’s seat. And when you can’t, be smart enough to ride with a responsible driver and to stay awake until you arrive at your destination.”
Little Known Fact(s): “I performed Off Broadway and throughout Senegal and Mali with the Maimouna Keita West African Dance Company and was one of the lead actresses in the UVI Little Theatre production of Dance Bongo produced by David Edgecombe.
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Loán Sewer is a marketing and tourism consultant and proud Virgin Islander who resides in Washington, D.C. She is also a founding member of the USVI Alliance Inc., an organization focused on reconnecting the Virgin Islands diaspora with the local community and host of the USVI Economic Development Summit on the U.S. mainland. Follow her on Twitter @LoTalksTourism or e-mail her at info@Lotalkstourism.com.
