Sept. 28, 2008 — Denis Lynch, a 19-year-old junior at the St. Croix campus of the University of the Virgin Islands, appears to have his act together — from his acting in video productions to his volunteering in the community to holding three jobs and going to school.
He attributes what he does to his "very tight family orientation."
A lot of kids aren't brought up the way he was, he said. He feels many kids lack parental involvement and that is why they have problems.
His parents, Denis and Pauline Lynch, gave him a different experience growing up than some parents do, he said. Spending a lot of time with his parents gave him a sense of stability.
His mom told him, "When you go out you don't only represent yourself — you're a reflection of us."
"I could go to them and talk about anything," Lynch said.
He said his dad always went to his basketball games and his mom taught him how to cook and type.
"She told me to be independent and not rely on anyone," Lynch said.
Lynch said his grandma, Cleone Carty, was a big influence on him too.
"She reinforced the values and morals my parents taught us," Lynch said
Lynch grew up in the Tortola section of Estate Grove Place. The best memories he has as a little boy was going to the horse races with his father. He has two older sisters, Cleone and Evol. He started school at St. Patrick's in Frederiksted, skipped part of kindergarten and graduated early, at age 16 from St. Joseph's School.
Many teachers also influenced him during his school years.
He said Mr. Cybele, a history teacher at St. Joseph's, always pushed him to do his best. "He told me, ‘Denis you have so much potential,’" Lynch said. He added his basketball coach Ms. Rivera was always there for moral support.
Values instilled in him by his parents are apparent in his choice of extra curricular activities that he said he has been involved in for as long as he can remember.
Lynch is the vice president of the Grove Place Weed and Seed, a group of 15 youths who do community projects such as litter cleanups. They focus on the dos and don'ts of society and keeping drugs out of the community.
"Denis is a young man that makes a positive impact on the community as a role model to young men," said Denise Lewis, Weed and Seed program coordinator and president of St. Croix Unity Coalition.
He has been active for two years in St. Croix Unity Coalition (SCUC) whose motto is "making positive life choices." The mission of SCUC is to reduce alcohol, tobacco and other illegal drug use among adolescents and helping children to make positive life choices. He said he has enjoyed working at the Annual Teen Summit hosted by SCUC held at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) St. Croix campus. The summit is a drug/alcohol/violence free interactive educational forum held every year in July.
In September 2007, Lynch had a leading role in a locally made video "Better Choices for a Better Future." The video portrayed young people facing everyday situations and challenges concerning sex and drug use. Sponsor of the video was ARCH, or Access to Racial and Cultural Health, which aims to increase access to health care that is mindful of racial and cultural differences by both traditional and nontraditional methods.
The ARCH Institute curriculum includes the Coalition of Adolescents and Young Adults (CAYA) Media Project, the source of the video. The mission of the CAYA Media Project is to build a drug-free, healthy, and safe community by integrating prevention into traditional Crucian cultural arts, games and storytelling.
The video was taped in nine episodes following a weekly curriculum taught by the ARCH Institute. It was finished in one week, with filming done on St. Croix beaches and in the home of Gustav James and Janis Valmond.
In April Lynch took part in a panel discussion on "Underage Drinking and Ways to Combat It." Hosting the forum was SCUC, in collaboration with the UVI Division of Student Affairs.
Lynch thinks giving back to the St. Croix community is very important.
He will be able to stay and give back to St. Croix because after graduating he plans to stay and work at Hovensa. He is studying process technology at Hovensa with coinciding classes at UVI to become a process operator at Hovensa.
He is currently working part time for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) as a security officer at the Henry Rohlsen airport. He works and volunteers for Sunstroke Productions, a production company owned by local radio personality Rashidi Clenance. And he still spends a lot of time with his parents working at their family owned and operated Get Snackin distributors.
"I am very proud of Denis," said Pauline Lynch. "We are behind him in everything he does." She said she still keeps pushing him to do better adding, "Failure is never an option."
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