what would happen when I got into
Communications,\u201d the UVI Summer Bridge
program graduate said. \u201cIt has been a love affair
ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Uvi-class-of-23-7403981-edited.jpg\")
Michael has fond memories of his Communications
Professor, Dr. Sharon Honore. \u201cI want to say a special thank
you to a true champion of education, an inspiration, and a
devoted faculty member of the Communications
Department,\u201d he says. \u201cIf it were not for her continued
expertise and guidance, I would have missed out on some
truly unique experiences.\u201d Michael served as one of the
founding members of the University of the Virgin Islands
Association of Black Journalists (UVIABJ) Chapter of the
National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), hosted
and coordinated the annual UVIABJ Communication
Summits and film festivals, all while being a contributor to
UVI\u2019s Voice 2.0 online newspaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy involvement in the UVIABJ has shown me that Balancing academics and extracurricular activities, He also traveled to two NABJ National Conferences, in Las They were chosen from a competitive pool of 300 Michael and Jackeima also had the opportunity to As a University of the Virgin Islands student,Michael Bell traveled beyond the shores of hisCrucian homeland many times, attending andpresenting at national conferences, interviewedimportant government officials, served aspresident in the University\u2019s Association of BlackJournalists and last Fall was named one of UVI\u2019sHBCU White House Scholars in 2023. Michael\u2019s career path is a far cry from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1401"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1401"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1513,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1401\/revisions\/1513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Communications has many components,\u201d he said. \u201cThere
are so many careers you can access through this route. I
saw individuals starting off as Communications majors
who have their MBAs and are running public relations and
marketing firms. I was also able to network with people in
the media industry who are doing great things. Through
the Association of Black Journalists, I have a more open
view of what Communications can offer and where it can
take you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/magazine.uvi.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/white-House_1-edited-1.jpg\")
Michael continuously traveled to enhance his career
opportunities. He represented UVI at the 2022 Thurgood
Marshall Fund Leadership Institute in New York City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As part of UVI Career Day, Michael interviewed Governor
Albert Bryan Jr., in 2022. The interview won the Top Feature
Film Award at the Caribbean Cinematic and Arts Festival in
2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vegas, Nevada and Birmingham, Alabama. In Spring 2023,
Michael, traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the
White House press briefing with Vice President Kamala
Harris and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This would not be his last interaction with the White House,
however. Michael and fellow UVI student Jackeima
Flemming were selected to the ninth White House HBCU
Scholar cohort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
applicants and were recognized along with 102
undergraduate, graduate, and professional students
from 29 different states and countries for their
accomplishments in academics, leadership, and civic
engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
collaborate with other scholars on ideas to
commercialize technology derived from NASA
intellectual property. Last Fall, they traveled to the 2023
HBCU Week National Annual Conference in Virginia and
the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland to
present their IP ideas in-person. They also served as
ambassadors to the White House Initiative on HBCUs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wrapping up his undergraduate career, after being
named to the Dean\u2019s List four times, Michael had the
honor of being selected student speaker at his 2023
commencement ceremony.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"