Christopher Velasquez, an 18 year-old student of St. Maarten Academy, and a member of the St. Maarten Archaeological Center (SIMARC), last July in Antigua made an archaeology presentation at the International Congress for Caribbean Archaeology (IACA). It has now come to pass that Chris has been invited to attend introductory classes at City University New York (CUNY). While at the IACA congress with fellow student Matthew Halley and SIMARC Director Dr. Jay Haviser, Chris had the opportunity to meet Dr. Cory Look who is the head of the Forensic Science department at CUNY. Dr. Look was very impressed with Chris’s presentation at the IACA Congress, and after subsequent correspondence invited him to attend some classes at CUNY to see if he is interested in pursuing a career in the field of Forensic Archaeology. “We are extremely pleased that the professional networking opportunity that Chris got by attending the IACA congress has resulted in this kind of career potential for him”, said SIMARC director Dr. Haviser. “It is one of the central goals of SIMARC to stimulate more St. Maarten youth to look for careers in scientific fields, and here we see success towards that direction”, Haviser further stated.
Christopher Velasquez, an 18 year-old student of St. Maarten Academy, and a member of the St. Maarten Archaeological Center (SIMARC), last July in Antigua made an archaeology presentation at the International Congress for Caribbean Archaeology (IACA). It has now come to pass that Chris has been invited to attend introductory classes at City University New York (CUNY). While at the IACA congress with fellow student Matthew Halley and SIMARC Director Dr. Jay Haviser, Chris had the opportunity to meet Dr. Cory Look who is the head of the Forensic Science department at CUNY. Dr. Look was very impressed with Chris’s presentation at the IACA Congress, and after subsequent correspondence invited him to attend some classes at CUNY to see if he is interested in pursuing a career in the field of Forensic Archaeology. “We are extremely pleased that the professional networking opportunity that Chris got by attending the IACA congress has resulted in this kind of career potential for him”, said SIMARC director Dr. Haviser. “It is one of the central goals of SIMARC to stimulate more St. Maarten youth to look for careers in scientific fields, and here we see success towards that direction”, Haviser further stated.
