Seven inspiring St. Maarteners have this year been nominated for the Dutch Caribbean Pearl Awards – an event that aims to celebrate successes and Dutch Caribbean (DC) role models living in the Netherlands. Stichting Ocan, the foundation responsible for organizing the DC Pearls event, wants to represent DC people for an equal chance to reach their full potential. The fourth edition of the DC Pearls Gala & Award Show will take place on November 7. The winners will be announced during a spectacular award show at the Party & Convention Center Doelarie in Rotterdam.
A judging panel of well-experienced professionals from each category will select the winners based on predefined criteria. There will be one winner for each of the seven categories namely: Music & Entertainment, Science, Community, Student, Sport, Entrepreneurship and Art & Literature.
Aside from the winners in the various categories, all the nominees are competing against each other for the additional “Most Outstanding Pearl” award, which is selected, based on an open poll system. Friends, family, supporters and the general public are invited to vote for their favourite Pearl by visiting the DCPearls website (www.dcpearls.nl/vote). The voting for the Most Outstanding Pearl 2015 is now open. So support your fellow St. Maarteners and VOTE NOW!
John Sandiford (30)
User Experience/Interaction Designer & Owner at Antonio Media has lived in Sucker Garden, French Quarter, Belvedere & Guana Bay.
Describe yourself in five words.
Ambitious, driven, focused, caring, approachable.
What’s an average day like for you?
I wake up in the morning, head to the office by bike or car depending on my mood or the weather, gather my thoughts and plan out the day – which is vital if you have a lot of work to do. I’ll connect the MacBook Pro and plug into our digital world; it usually starts with Mail, Calendar, Photoshop, Illustrator, Axure or Basecamp to kick off the workday. This consists of creating pixel perfect interaction layouts to managing the freelancers working on projects with Antonio Media to quick brainstorm sessions with the creative team(s) to hash out one little piece of functionality. By the time the day is in full swing, I might have had one or two clients visit the office for updates, had conference calls with clients who are based in other parts of Europe and/or the Caribbean or visited clients in the Netherlands myself. I am also part of several network organizations of which I attend weekly events. Every day feels like an adventure with tons of things to do and accomplish.
Why are you nominated for the Caribbean Dutch Pearl Awards?
No one has told me yet why they nominated me, but I could assume my accomplishments and attitude towards life have inspired others. I also actively partake in sessions and workshops teaching the community about entrepreneurship. The community noticed and submitted my name as a nominee.
How do you feel about being nominated?
I’m overwhelmed by the positive response from the community and my network. What I might love the most about the nomination is that it has brought a lot of positive individuals to light. This question shows our Dutch Caribbean people in the Netherlands in a very positive light. All in all, I’m very grateful and feel blessed with the positive energy the community has been sending my way.
What advice do you have for others striving to reach their own goals?
I’ve always said practice what you preach. Focus on your goals, take it one step at a time, but keep moving! Smile while overcoming tough challenges and stay true to oneself. Aim to accomplish your dreams, but remain humble about it. Be willing to help others and take the time to help them. Those you pass on the way up will be passing you on your way down; remember that! When making bold statements, you should be able to follow them up with results. And last but not least, forever strive to step out of your comfort zone to reach for that “epic s***” space.
Jernaldo “Dr. Rum” Thielman (25)
Artist/entertainer from Guana Bay
Describe yourself in five words.
Highly energetic, shining like the sun, sound-minded, creative and talented.
What’s an average day like for you?
I wake, pray and thank God for a new day, freshen up then "maybe" eat something. Turn on my laptop and start creating some music. Then either my brother or cousin might come over so we could have a little jam session and from there record some new music. It doesn't have to be something that will come out, but it’s more to stimulate the workflow and creativity. Ever since I graduated, I don't really have the momentum of waking up at 8:00am and working until 4:00pm, so I use the studio now like it is school. During studio time, I would maybe look at something inspirational or have a creative conversation, which is music related.
Why are you nominated for the Caribbean Dutch Pearl Awards?
Why exactly I don't know, but what I do know is that I must have been doing something right. It's like all the hard work is paying off. It must be that someone saw how hard I've been working and representing my island at the same time.
How do you feel about being nominated?
I feel honoured and excited to be nominated because I have dreamt of walking up on stage and accepting awards. So it’s the beginning of my dreams coming to reality, and that is an awesome feeling to know that my hard work is being seen and appreciated. It's a real blessing!
What advice do you have for others striving to reach their own goals?
My advice to everyone out there is to never stop dreaming because nothing is impossible – just keep believing in yourself and keep striving for the top and nothing less than the best. "Everything is possible once you believe it."
Thomassio Kelly (22)
Full time student and photographer; grew up in Cay Bay; current family residency is in Ebenezer.
Describe yourself in five words.
Flexible, social, determined, friendly and ambitious.
What’s an average day like for you?
I wake up and give God thanks for allowing me to see another day. After my morning routine, it is off to Albeda College, where I am studying culinary arts at the moment and spend the majority of my day. After my classes, I head home and work on schoolwork and any projects I have involving my photography. I try on a daily basis to find ways to improve my skills in photography. I do this by basically living on YouTube and searching online for different new techniques I can use. I like to set up personal photoshoots to practice with models, different posing techniques and lightning. A few of my friends who are also photographers help me out a lot as well!
Why are you nominated for the Caribbean Dutch Pearl Awards?
I’m nominated for the Outstanding Student Award. I think this is because I try to be at as many events as possible to take pictures; I take my work seriously and am very friendly with my clients. At the same time, while being busy with my passion in photography and work, I take my studies very seriously and make sure I focus on that as well.
How do you feel about being nominated?
I’m extremely grateful and shocked at the same time!
What advice do you have for others striving to reach their own goals?
Don’t ever give up on whatever you want to do in life, especially if it makes you happy. You will meet a lot of roadblocks or end up in situations where you just want to give up, but remember that God is in control. It’s also important to keep positive people around you that motivate you and challenge you to new levels. Strive for greatness; and no matter how much you may fall down, get back up and try again!
Kyle Brown aka “DJ Spy” (age remains a mystery)
Entrepreneur, DJ Spy and owner of AsylumRadio (radio station), Fete After Fete (Event Planner), Small Island Unity and Dutch Feathers, from Philipsburg (Fort Willem).
Describe yourself in five words.
Ignorant to what failure proposes.
What’s an average day like for you?
In my case, there is no such thing as an "average day". It can range from waking up peacefully praying, to checking my emails, making sure the apocalypse hasn't taken over on Facebook. Or maybe not sleeping for over 48 hours in front of the computer dealing with clients in different parts of the world, whilst rearranging schedules on the radio, assuring that everything is proper for an upcoming event...setting up for Carnival, DJ Bookings later on in the day/night (or in another country). While this all goes on, fighting to have a personal life (laughs)!
Why are you nominated for the Caribbean Dutch Pearl Awards?
Well to be honest, it came as a shock, but as I was told that my motivation and drive are contagious.
How do you feel about being nominated?
I am humbled by it. Yet I hope that persons aren't focused on giving me glory for what I'm doing. Call me senile, but I'd prefer their focus go into supporting the movement of creating a more respectable and honourable image for the island of St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius in Europe.
What advice do you have for others striving to reach their own goals?
This may sound a bit cliché, but if your goals are different from everyone else's, prepare to strive hard for them! At the end of the day, if you keep pushing forward, you will NEVER have failures, just lessons; and in return, your successes shall be greater!
Cyriel Pfennings (29) & Melissa Gumbs (32)
Cyriel, an Assistant Reinsurance Manager, grew up in Point Blanche and Belair.
Melissa is a Market Research Analyst from South Reward.
Describe yourself in five words.
Cyriel: Positive, innovative, go-getter, observant and athletic.
Melissa: Resourceful, focused, open-minded, driven, gamer.
What’s an average day like for you?
Cyriel: My alarm goes off at 6:30am. I catch up on the overnight news on social media and get ready for work. Before leaving, I prepare my breakfast and lunch for the day and bike it to work. At Achmea, I'm responsible for handling claims that affect the reinsurance market, improving current processes and overall quality control. After a day at the job, I have dinner with my now fiancé and after that, it's time to get a few hours of USC work in before heading out to baseball training.
Melissa: Wake up, get ready, tolerate the commute from The Hague to Amsterdam by checking out news from the Netherlands and St. Maarten (always a good read!), settle in and get started at work. I’m responsible for market research, CRM environment maintenance, and reporting on sales performance. When I get home after the day job, it’s usually USC work for a few more hours, liaising with our committee members on upcoming events or projects. I unwind by gaming on either the Xbox One or my laptop.
Why are you nominated for the Caribbean Dutch Pearl Awards?
We’re nominated for our contribution to the St. Maarten and wider Dutch Caribbean community in the Netherlands. This is based on our efforts to provide inclusive and dynamic environments where students and young professionals from the island can meet, enjoy each other’s company, exchange knowledge and become a closer St. Maarten community in this home away from home. We’ve done this with our workshops, sport day, and fundraising events and, of course, the Christmas Gala.
How do you feel about being nominated?
It’s definitely an honour to be nominated. We are still a relatively young organization in this community in the Netherlands, so it’s always great to receive this kind of feedback. It certainly validates the hard work of our committee members and encourages us to continue setting new and bigger objectives for ourselves, both personally and within the foundation.
What advice do you have for others striving to reach their own goals?
Cyriel: Set out long- and short-term goals. Use every challenge to better yourself. Every step is one that will help you further achieve the goals you've set, even if it's a very small step. Don't regret making mistakes, you learn from them.
Melissa: (1) Manage expectations: Too often people have huge dreams, and there is nothing wrong with that at all…until maybe it doesn’t happen right away and some tend to get discouraged and then stop altogether. Manage your own expectations to ensure you stay focused; others won’t manage them for you because they won’t want to bring you down. (2) Be honest with yourself and with those you come into contact with; whether they’re personal or professional, everyone adds some degree of value to your life and you should return that favour. Being honest with them about your intentions will go a long way to helping you achieve even the smallest step towards your goal. (3) No shortcuts – there are no shortcuts to success, at least none legal that I know of! Stay focused, stay driven, and stay honourable: it will pay off!
John Brooks (28)
Founder Brooks Modeling Agency – grew up in Middle Region.
In 2004, Brooks moved to the Netherlands to pursue a college education in Clinical Chemistry, which he graduated from in 2008. Rather than focusing on his first degree, he went on to study fashion and design in 2009; and in 2012, he launched Brooks Modeling Agency, an all-male boutique-modelling agency with an international level of models and professional approach.
Brooks Modeling Agency and its founder have earned the reputation of finding diamonds in the rough; and turning their models into some of fashion’s greatest success stories. It is noted as one of the top modelling agencies in the Netherlands and is well respected internationally. The models represented at Brooks Modeling Agency have worked all the major brands in the world, such as Versace, Gucci, Armani, Calvin Klein, Givenchy, Prada and Louis Vuitton. Brooks’ models can be seen on the cover of Vogue, Elle and L’officiel Homme. Although his boutique image and reputation are one of the driving factors of his success, Brooks is noted as an energetic person who’s full of creative ideas. He always visualizes his ideas and goals so you can keep up with his ideas.
For more information on the nominees, event information and voting, surf to www.dcpearls.nl
