Our Young Professional for this week, Mr K'Nal O. Thomas is one you can safely say has his eyes on success to the extent that he is prepared to invest most of his youth to work towards achieving this ultimate goal in life. Photo: provided

Finding time to relax with friends is something Mr Thomas seldom gets to do but when it happens it is worth the while, he says. Photo: provided

Sailing is one of the things our Young Professional enjoys as a form of recreation. Photo: provided

His passion for success has caused him to make a conscious decision to make the sacrifice today rather than to wait until tomorrow. This has caused him to elevate to a position in one of the most important offices in the Virgin Islands-Financial Services Commission and while he couldn’t speak much about his job because of obvious reasons, he had one message for his boss, “Mr Kenneth Baker I am coming after your position.”

Indeed there was much laughter to that message but the underlying point is to show where he would like to get ultimately, and not just at another institution, he is aiming and working genuinely to someday become the head of the Financial Services Commission of the Virgin Islands. Asked how possible he thinks this is, Mr Thomas responded, “The sky is the limit. If you want anything in this life I believe you should call it by name and chase after it, stay focused and I believe I can do it, so Mr Kenneth Baker I am coming after your job,” said a confident K’Nal O. Thomas.

K’Nal said he is a bonafide citizen of the Virgin Islands and comes from humble beginnings. This had led him along the path of furthering his studies at State University of New York Old Wesbury campus having acquired a solid foundation of academic schooling here in the Virgin Islands.

His professional experience got a kick start as a Teller at Banco Popular from the tender age of 17. At such an age most youths are usually at a stage where they might have an idea of what career they want to pursue but need to be doing some testing. This was no different for Mr. Thomas but he said that there was a string of surety that the financial circle was the place for him to build his career and so he stuck with it. This saw him staying with the bank for approximately 3 years before heading off to university where he worked his way to a degree in financing.

It started with a summer attachment and a smile! “Ms Scatliffe liked me so much that she told me to come back to work with the bank after I finished school.” Asked what was the pull-factor that had Ms Scatliffe wanting him back at the bank, Mr Thomas said, “I guess it was my smile, Ms Scatliffe liked my smile so much she always wanted me around her,” He said in a burst of laughter. “I had some very nice white teeth at that age and demeanor was very laid back, very cordial, very open and I could do the job so they had a liking to me and I end up in there and  from there I was just in that field and it just grew from there,” he added.

“After I finished that degree I came back home and started working at Banco Popular again but as a Mortgage Officer.” There he clocked another three years. From the position of Mortgage Officer, Mr Thomas made a big leap to securing a position in the Financial Services Commission (FSC), a position he had his eyes on all along. It is there where he sits now doing the duties he loves; regulating finances.

“Finances is all I knew from high school, to the Banco Popular then my Degree in Finances, that was all I ever knew, it is what I love and it’s the one career that I intend to maintain until I reach the highest level of the FSC,” he said.

What makes our Young Professional so unique in his family is that his mother is a cosmetologist by trade and his dad manages the daily operations of boats at Vigin Gorda Yacht Harbour.

“I do other stuff, I have my habits. I like movies, I am not so much into sports, I do some weightlifting none-the-less.” On the point of weightlifting the question was popped of course "Where are the muscles?". In an outburst of laughter he responded, “No, No, No, not like the Arnold, big body weightlifter, but I do work out it helps me stay in shape and healthy too.”

“There are other little things on the side that keeps me busy...reading, studying and things like that.” Here again was the smile followed by the outburst of laughter. And for those who may wondering, yes he is single, never been married, no kids. “But don’t get me wrong I do want to someday have kids but I firmly believe in having children in wedlock and at this moment I am not so focused on marriage but rather on my career, but don’t worry I get to my own family thing before it's too late,” and there was more laughter.

He said that if given the opportunity to stand on stage to address youths at any forum he would pull the topic of drugs. “I would advise my youths out there to just stay away from drugs. Youth is a thing that cannot be bought in a shop and drugs is such a big stealer of youth.” He said the topic of drug use and handling can never be over discussed and said that it is very important for communities to work together to help young people who may be negatively influenced. “This is a big issue and parents cannot do it by themselves, it takes a community to raise a child and we must not stop looking out for each other.”

The point that must not be forgotten on the other hand is that message from our Young Professional Mr K’Nal O. Thomas. Remember Mr Baker he is coming after your job, he is determined, ambitious and has what it takes to elevate to the highest levels. On a point of caution though, Mr Baker, if ever you have to do some pulling up on his part, once you are dead serious, please do not look him in the face as he has a smile that is strong enough to melt your heart. If you don’t believe, ask Ms Scafliffe!