Full name:
Jeffrey S. Newton.
St. Maarten Nickname (if people here know you better as...):
Just Jeffrey, unless you count the times people have called me Shekaka (Ace Venture reference).
Age:
29.
City and Country of residence today:
Edmonton (Canada) for now.
Occupation:
Doing my PhD in soil ecology and teaching undergraduate students at the University of Alberta.
Recap your story:
My family moved around a lot. In the end, I spent most of my youth in St. Maarten growing up as a teenager. Early on I held a fascination for the natural world around me. This eventually got me motivated enough to finish VWO at MPC and get into Wageningen University to get my undergraduate and graduate degree in Biology. I used to specialize in insect succession on decomposing cadavers (my research always pulls a crowd) but have since switched to the wonderful world of soil micro-invertebrates. In short, I study mites that live underground. As a soil ecologist I am interested in the effects that soil animals, mostly mites, have on the vegetation aboveground. Check out my videos on Youtube.com (search: Jeffrey Newton mites). Soil mites are a very specialized field in science and so I had just a few places in the world that I could continue my studies. By some stroke of luck, I got an opportunity to study under two big names in the small world of mite taxonomy right here in Edmonton. I am now halfway through to getting my PhD. And in case you have never heard of Edmonton, it is sometimes colder here than it is at the North Pole. I don't think many other St. Maarteners have shared the sensation of a -56°C wind chill. Some guys have asked me if your pee freezes before it hits the ground at these temperatures. The answer is yes, but more importantly no person in their right mind would pull out any extremities from the safety of their warm clothing in that weather!
What St. Maarten district are you from?
Point Blanche.
Where did you go to school on St. Maarten?
Butterfly, Regina, Hillside and MPC.
What is your favourite St. Maarten memory?
Spending time with people I love (family, extended family and friends), hiking the beautiful trails (e.g. Backbay), BBQ-ing fish and conch in my back yard, surfing, chasing lizards, racing millipedes in the rain gutter, etc. There's really too much to have a favourite memory. It's all so special to me and has shaped the way I am today.
What was your biggest surprise when you left the island?
Finding out that I'm an island boy after all. Due to the travelling my family used to do, I assumed that I had some clue of what to expect in the rest of the world. Today I know that I will keep being surprised every time I move to a new place. In particular, many St. Maarten expressions are engrained in me and I still have trouble not thinking it's a mongoose crossing my path here in the woods (they are actually squirrels!)
What are your accomplishments?
I have always had a passion for all living things and today I am getting my PhD degree so I can teach at the highest possible level of education. Personally I feel that accomplishments are hard to define because I don't really keep a score sheet. However, if I need to highlight something it would definitely be me making it into academia. Being a scientist enables me to study and teach what I love.
What are your goals?
Being a good dad for my daughter (I know you've heard that before, but wait till you have your own!) and a good partner for my better half. But besides that, I hope to travel some more with my new family after I get my PhD and eventually settle down and work as a teacher. I hope to inspire everyone around me to see the positive things around them and to always keep asking questions. To me, curiosity is the greatest gift of all.
What makes you special?
Probably my insatiable curiosity – that's what got me where I am today – also my strong morals, while having no religious foundation: I am an avid vegetarian (since I was 15 years old), don't drink or smoke and I go to extreme lengths to be honest and keep my word.
Where do you get your drive?
First of all, from my fascination with the complexity of life itself. I would like to be able to share this privileged perspective with as many as I can. Second, my mom always made me feel like everyone and anyone CAN make a difference, and knowing this I strongly believe I can do my part in bettering the world through education.
How long have you been gone?
About two years now. But before that I was working in SXM for about a year and a half after I got back from my studies in Holland.
Do you have any advice for the young people of St. Maarten?
I think sometimes you really need to liberate yourself from your surroundings. I used to read a lot and it gave me lots of fresh ideas and new perspectives, things that were hard to come by on a small island. So appreciate your unique surroundings but also look beyond that, that's the only way you and the island can move forward. Get an education and try to give back.
Are you planning to return to St. Maarten in the future?
SXM will always have a special place in my heart, but I feel like I have outgrown the place. It is not the same place anymore as I remember it. I think the island suffers from extreme overdevelopment and has gotten way too crowded. I would love to visit in the future though, show my new family my roots and do some educational nature hikes with kids like I did with the Nature Foundation.
