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High Flyers: Education I

Profiles of 20 phenomenal young Grand Bahamians.

The Scholar

Dr. Christian Campbell

Rhodes Scholar, professor, author, award-winning poet, and cultural critic.

  • Assistant Professor of English, Graduate Faculty and Undergraduate Instructor, University of Toronto, Department of English
  • Earned a PhD and M.A. from Duke University, a M.Phil from Oxford University and a B.A. from Macalester College
  • Winner of the Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG) Art Writing Award for his essay entitled "J.M.B.'s Dehistories," which is about Jean-Michel Basquiat an African-American artist, 2015
  • Guest Speaker for the College of the Bahamas Fall Commencement Ceremony, 2013
  • Represented the Bahamas at the Poetry Parnassus, part of the Cultural Olympiad, 2012
  • Winner of the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize for his book "Running the Dusk," and was shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Prize for the Best First Book and the Cave Canem Poetry Prize, 2010
  • First poet of color and Bahamian to win the Aldeburgh Prize, the oldest prize for a first book of poetry in the UK
  • The second Caribbean poet to be shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Prize for the Best First Book
  • The Caribbean Review of Books, Horizon Review and Poetry International named "Running the Dusk" one of the best books of 2010
  • Awarded the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Cup for the Most Outstanding Young Bahamian, 2003 
  • First Bahamian male Commonwealth Caribbean Rhodes Scholar (2002) and second Bahamian to receive the prestigious award
  • Awarded grants and fellowships from Cave Canem, Arvon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Lannan Foundation, Fine Arts Work Center and the University of Birmingham.
  • Research articles include "Folking up the Criticism: Re-Thinking 'the Folk' in Caribbean Discourse," The Routledge Companion to Anglophone Caribbean Literature,"  "Island Boy: An Interview with Sir Sidney Poitier," and "Callaloo and the Cultures and Letters of the Black Diaspora"
  • His poetry and essays have been published in  journals and anthologies such as Callaloo, Caribbean Review of Books, Indiana Review, Maple Tree Literary Supplement, New Caribbean Poetry, New Poetry IV, PN Review, Poetry London, Small Axe, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, The Routledge Companion to Anglophone Caribbean Literature, Wasafiri, and West Branch
  • His teaching and research interest include Caribbean literature; Black Diaspora literature and culture; Cultural Studies and popular culture; Poetry and poetics; Postcolonial theory; and Creative writing
  • Current research is on the life and work of Sir Sidney Poitier; Essays on poetry by Lorna Goodison and Derek Walcott; Caribbean art and memory; and works by Louise Bennett 
  • Conducted a number of landmark interviews with public figures as diverse as Sir Sidney Poitier, the late Professor Rex Nettleford, and Jamaican music artist Buju Banton

Age: 37

The Academic

Dr. Crystal A. deGregory

 Tennessee State University faculty member and Founder and Executive Editor of HBCUstory Inc. 

  • Bishop Michael Eldon School 50th Anniversary Warriors Golden Jubilee Honoree, 2015 
  • Presenter at TEDx Grand Bahama on the topic "The Problem with What We Teach and Tell Girls," 2015 (See video)
  • Published an editorial entitled "Nashville's Black Clandestine Schools," in the New York Times, 2015
  • Finalist for the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Alumna of the Year Award, 2015
  • Holds a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in History from Vanderbilt University (2005 and 2011 respectively) and a Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Tennessee State University, 2014
  • Convenor of the Second HBCUstory Symposium, 2014
  • Recipient of the Hope Dealer of the Year Award, 2014
  • Guest speaker on Minding Your Business with Davina Rutherford (Grand Bahamian radio show) speaking on the topic "Grand Bahamians Living Abroad," 2014
  • Moderator at  the TEDx Grand Bahama sponsored event on "Bahamian Development: How Can We Further It," 2014
  • Author of several book chapters, "The Relationships of Revolution: Martin Luther King, Jr.: the Civil Rights Movement and Political Change in The Bahamas" which was published in In an Inescapable Network of Mutuality: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Globalization of an Ethical Ideal (2013); and "Epilogue." in the book "The Athletic Experience at Historically Black Colleges and Universities."
  • Editor of "Emancipation and the Fight for Freedom" (2013), volume 6 in the 12-part series on Tennessee in the Civil War, 2013
  • Contributed to The HBCU Digest; HBCU Experience: The Book (2014); The Journal of Tennessee State University (2012);  Encyclopedia of African American Popular Culture (2011); and Freedom Facts and First: 400 Years of the African American Civil Rights Experience (2009).
  • Co-host of Black Docs Radio on SiriusXM

Age: 34

Schools: Mary Star of the Sea, and Freeport Anglican High 

Website: http://crystaldegregory.com/