Our featured personality for this week, Ms Sasha S. Creque, embodies a spirit that is characterised by passion, dedication, hard work and a continued quest for knowledge. Photo: supplied

Hailing from North Sound, Virgin Gorda and the eldest of four siblings, this week’s Young Professional was raised in the Methodist Church and credits this for much of the focus, strength and discipline she embraces today. Photo: VINO

Being the petite livewire that she is, it is unsurprising that Sasha was once an aspiring track enthusiast. Always displaying a competitive spirit on the track, Sasha said this helped to give her the passion and drive she has today to excel. Photo: VINO

Sasha has since started a ballet school of her own, the Adagio Dance School, at the Body Images Health Club located at Wickham’s Cay II along the Sir Walter Francis Drive. Photo: supplied

Her dance school, which was started a year ago in Tortola, offers both practical and theoretical instruction in ballet. Photo: VINO

Sasha related that she stays current with training techniques through constant research but hopes to one day continue her own training in ballet once the opportunity becomes available. Photo: supplied

Sasha wants young persons to become organized by planning what they have to do and prioritise their time in order to get things done. Photo: supplied

Virgin Islands News Online proudly presents our Young Professional of this week, Ms Sasha S. Creque, a consummate and experienced banking professional who is also a talented ballet instructor.

Hailing from North Sound, Virgin Gorda and the eldest of four siblings, this week’s Young Professional was raised in the Methodist Church and credits this for much of the focus, strength and discipline she embraces today.

“Once you are spiritually grounded, it sticks with you throughout your life, which I thank my mom and aunt Cresada for,” Sasha told Virgin Islands News Online. 

She attended Robinson O’Neal Memorial Primary, where she related that she gathered much of her inspiration for later life. She credits former Principal Gracia Stevens (who is also her Godmother) as well as teacher Leticia Leonard as being among those who were instrumental in developing her formative years.

Sasha then attended the Bregado Flax Secondary Division before moving to the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) where she studied Natural Sciences in pursuit of her hope of one day becoming an Anaesthesiologist.

Over time, her circumstances evolved and our Young Professional decided to take a different course in life. She is now engaged in studies for a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration through online courses with Ashworth College.

Being the petite livewire that she is, it is unsurprising that Sasha was once an aspiring track enthusiast. Always displaying a competitive spirit on the track, Sasha said this helped to give her the passion and drive she has today to excel.

Sasha also ran track at HLSCC and represented the college’s Stingrays team at various meets both locally and overseas where she helped to make and break a few records.

She was also a part of the HLSCC Stingettes, a dance and cheerleading group at the local college. She recalls vividly one of her coaches telling her that serious athletes do not dance.

But our Young Professional was not deterred, and it is here that Sasha said she was first instilled with the encouragement and passion for dance after being told that she possessed the necessary talent for the art form.

Sasha next began a job with Scotiabank in 2005 with the intention of following her aspirations of attending medical school but had her first child, and this inevitably changed her course in life.

Initially starting out as a Retail Administrative Clerk, she continued at Scotiabank for six years and was able to acquire numerous skills working in various departments while taking advantage of a number of training opportunities. She also worked as a Personal Banking Assistant and Personal Banking Officer and was trained in solvency and small business among other areas.

“I utilised every bit of the tools that [Scotiabank] provided at that time,” she related, “the manuals, the training and taking the initiative to practically do job shadowing… I took advantage of all of that.” She explained that this provided her with a great platform and foundation in her career.

Sasha moved to VP Bank in 2012, the second largest lending institution in the Territory, where she works as a Credit Administrator. She is responsible for handling commercial and residential mortgages on a daily basis for local and overseas customers.

Her new job, she expressed, has helped to open up her eyes to see much more and she has been able to realise a significant amount of self-growth since joining VP Bank. She was especially thrilled in having the support of Ms. Sanchia Thompson and Mr. Sjoerd Koster who have been her recent mentors, which she explained aided in this growth.

“I couldn’t run from it, it was a part of me, something that I wanted to do besides track and field,” Sasha related of her lifelong passion for dance which had since morphed into a love for ballet.

After leaving Scotiabank, she attended the Music in Motion ballet school for six months in neighbouring St Croix under the guidance of Charlita Schuster. “When I went there, I thought I was going to learn just the dancing, but she took me under her wing and taught me how to run a ballet business.”

Sasha has since started a ballet school of her own, the Adagio Dance School, at the Body Images Health Club located at Wickham’s Cay II along the Sir Walter Francis Drive. She currently tutors students on Fridays and Saturdays of each week, ranging from pre-schoolers right up to persons in their late teens.

When asked how she manages to find the time to fit these aspects of her life into her schedule, Sasha quickly responded by saying that time management is her forte and described herself as being very organised.

Her dance school, which was started a year ago in Tortola, offers both practical and theoretical instruction in ballet. “They have to learn their French terms,” she emphasised while noting that she tells parents that her students are not simply being prepared to perform locally, but are also being moulded as future ambassadors of the Virgin Islands.

Sasha related that she stays current with training techniques through constant research but hopes to one day continue her own training in ballet once the opportunity becomes available.

Of her students, she said, “It’s not just about me teaching them the dancing and the techniques, I mentor them as well.” She noted that she regularly requests her students’ report cards and follows their progress at school and in their lives, offering advice wherever and whenever this may be required.

Adagio, an Italian word describing a slow tempo, is indicative of the mode of instruction at the dance school. Sasha explained that instructions are given in a measured and deliberate manner so that the student’s technique will eventually be flawless.

The group has a Facebook page under Adagio Dance School and also participates in several local events such as the recent Prince and Princess show and the BVI Dance Fest. She is ably assisted in her duties by a strong and supportive committee, the 'Adagio Rising Stars Committe'.

Sasha aspires to have not just a dance school but a School of Art in the near future which teaches various types of visual and performing art including dance, music and craft. “It’s not just about me, it’s about passing on a torch to the younger generation,” she expressed.

Sasha wants young persons to become organized by planning what they have to do and prioritise their time in order to get things done. "I live my life by a list each day, once I execute what I've done on that list I prepare another one and keep striving to achieve what's on there," said the young over achiever. 

She further advised youths not settle, but to keep striving towards achieving their goals by taking the initiative to do so and said youths need to seek as much exposure as possible and expand their horizons by visiting other countries and having an awareness of other cultures. “The world is so much bigger than you think it is,” Sasha said.