This Week We Feature Young Professional Ronnielle J. Frazer
Born and raised in the Virgin Islands our Young Professional for this week Mr Ronnielle J. Frazer grew up in the era where he vividly recalled what he labeled ‘the Island struggle’ kind of life. He is one who adds value to the principles and morals instilled in him by his mother and grandfather, two persons in his life that no amount of money can replace.
Professionally Ronnielle J. Frazer is considered ‘the’ official photographer for the government of the Virgin Islands being employed at the Government Information Services (GIS) for some six years now. There is no doubt that he has a passion for what he does but for him it’s not what he does that matters most; it is how he approaches his job.
“It has to do a lot with the way you approach what you do. Anybody can be a photographer but having a certain personality, the way you interact with people, a simple kind word or a smile makes your job come over as a priceless treasure...” he said.
He never thought that one day he would have been in this position being in the forefront of almost all the major events of Government as while in school his focus was on Art and Craft. “It was an easy A for me so I studied Art and Craft. It’s not that I was not good at anything else. I did very well in other subject areas but at that time I thought why not go for the ‘A’ where you were absolutely sure of it and so I did excelled there.”
There was no doubt of his skills as an artist which he did while and after studying in the field of Marine at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC). But after while he found it to have become boring for him as his young mind and body were longing for other challenging things to do. This led him to start doing graphic designing.
“Then the same thing [started happening and I started becoming bored with that]. I ended up being good at it, I learnt a lot of things from other people that were doing it. Some of my teachers back in High School I would call them, ask them for little pointers then I started working at a Photo Studio on Main Street and that’s when I start getting into photography,” he recalled.
But there again everything was being done by machines with minimum use of the camera and this further pushed him to find something that would have challenged him even more.
“I wasn’t a photographer. I wasn’t doing anything like that. It was just the machine you going in to get your pictures printed digitally. I was selling digital cameras [and] I start reading about it, start learning it and I bought my first camera in 2007,” he said.
After that move the opportunity came along for him to go to Texas, USA where he got his hands-on training in the uses and techniques of cameras and photography.
When asked where he sees himself in the next five to ten years, unlike many, Ronnielle J. Frazer is not looking for a mansion in the sky, he is not the type that is just chasing after the dollars with a dream of becoming a millionaire. “No I don’t want to become a millionaire. I want to be a role model for the average young man out there to let them see that they can be the man and not just settle for being a man.”
He is already on that path of being a mentor to young in society. He is a mentor for the Mentoring Anointed Leaders Everywhere (MALE) project where he inspires the lives of young men. “That has shown me and is encouraging me to fashion my life in such a way that those young boys would want to be like me, pull pages out of my book and be a true man with values.”
He feels strongly about things like hitting a woman, being abusive, calling women derogatory names and not standing to the man’s role as a father. “We need men to become ‘the’ man and not just ‘a’ man. Any man can be called a man because of this human features but it is very important that we have men in our society that respect a woman by loving and supporting her and not making her a drum, always beating her down. I have never seen any of the men in my family be abusive to not a single woman, my grandfather never did it and that’s one of the reason I respect him so much. My grandfather is a simple fisherman but he has strong principles and values,” he said.
When Ronnielle J. Frazer is not with the young men of MALE, when he is not doing the Government’s job of being a photographer there is no doubt that you would find him out somewhere in the wide open sea on a boat. “I just love the sea, I have a passion for boats that’s why I have boats and I studied boats not for a career but for a hobby,” he said.
His advice to young people was very strong, short and well placed. “It’s time we do the things that makes a man ‘the’ man. We are losing our men; women are being forced to take up her and the man’s role in society today. We are failing them so they have to step forward. Let’s stop being satisfied with being just ‘a’ man and do the things to take our place and be ‘the’ man.”
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23 Responses to “This Week We Feature Young Professional Ronnielle J. Frazer”
Ronnielle......What's with the sexy poses in the pictures? =) (joking)
Well deserved and long over due to an extra-ordinary MAN. Quiet by observing from afar but once you get to know him, he's quite the character. Good choice Vino! I pray that God continues to bless you immensely in whatever area of profession you choose once it brings you happiness and fulfillment. Your goodwill towards others will pay off in the blessings that are heading your way. LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!