st. croix

Two Glorious Weeks in the Virgin Islands

Posted on by Seniye Groff

I was lucky enough to spend two weeks in the  U. S. Virgin Islands, which included St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John and Virgin Gorda (in the British Virgin Islands).  Part of the trip was a homecoming, while three of the islands were brand new to me.  All four islands were new to my family.  From Oregon, getting to the Virgin Islands is no easy affair and takes about 13 hours (similar to going to Europe for us).

We started our trip with a week in St. Croix.  I lived in St. Croix until 1989 and had not been back for 27 years.  I was excited to see what has changed, as well as, whether my memory served me well with the fond memories I carried with me for the last 27 years.  We stayed in a glorious little hotel right on the beach.  Literally, we rolled out of our cottage and right onto the beach.  It also happens to be one of the best beaches on the island.  Cottages by the Sea was the perfect place for us to be on the quieter side of the island for pure relaxation.

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While on St. Croix we visited my old home, which sadly now is an AT&T data farm.  Difficult to understand why 13 acres of pristine waterfront property should be used for a data farm, but such is life.  The only remaining fixture from the original property was a sugar mill that I had spent hours playing in.

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We also went to Buck Island and snorkeled the underwater trail in this incredibly beautiful national park.  The sailing trip out there is easy and Turtle Beach is incredibly beautiful.  And of course, the underwater trails hosts hundreds of fish and breathtaking coral.

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After a week in St. Croix we flew to St. Thomas, a very easy 30 minute plane ride.  St. Thomas is much more busy and touristy compared to St. Croix.  Also, instead of the intimate, cozy hotel we stayed at in St. Croix, we were at a much larger, busier resort.  It was perched on a breathtaking cliff overlooking the St. Thomas harbor with four pools, a nice beach, tennis courts and many restaurants.  After the quaint place we stayed, it felt like Disneyland.

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We took a ferry to St. John which has some of the most amazing beaches and a tiny downtown area.  Only 4,000 residents inhabit this amazing island.

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Our final day was spent on Virgin Gorda.  We took a 1.5 hour ferry to this little gem of an island to visit The Baths and Devil’s Bay.

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Our final night…

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This is a trip to be remembered for a very long time.

Diversity Training

Posted on by Seniye Groff

Last week I delivered diversity training to Dress for Success.  I have been a volunteer at DFS for 12 years (and that is longer than I have stayed at any paying job).  My interest in diversity training began when I was working on my thesis for my masters.  I realized I had a wealth of experiences that shaped my view of the world.  For example,  when I lived in St. Croix I quickly learned what it was like to be a minority.  At the time, out of 60,000 island residents, only 5,000 were Caucasian.  It was a great lesson for me.  This experience coupled with moving about every 11 months including Central America, the Middle East and throughout the U.S. gives me a broad frame of reference, as well as, lots of stories and experiences to share throughout my training session.

And the session really went great.  The group of new volunteers were engaged, interactive and really interested in the content, activities and stories.  They shared their experiences and overall realized how their lens “cloud” their views of how they perceive others.  The volunteers walked away with a new awareness and a new perspective.  It will go a long way to aid in their interactions with each other, as well as, the clients that DFS serves.