Schools
Local Teacher Wins Disney Vacation After Students Nominate Her
Roselyn Samuel-Hodge and her daughter enjoyed an all-expense-paid trip to Disney World after winning a contest hosted by ViVid Streaming.
ST. THOMAS, USVI — Roselyn Samuel-Hodge had a pretty stellar summer break and she has her students to thank. Samuel-Hodge is a fifth-grade teacher at Joseph Gomez Elementary School and the winner of Madd House Radio's "Swag Call" promotion. Her prize: an all-expenses-paid trip to Disney World this summer.
"Swag Call" is hosted on ViVid Streaming every weekday morning. Students, teachers, and parents call in to nominate a teacher to win a free trip to Disney. Samuel-Hodge was randomly selected after her students threw her name in the hat.
“The idea behind the promotion is to build school morale and pride, especially this past year that was so difficult on both teachers and students,” said local radio and television personality Rashidi Clenance, owner of ViVid Streaming. “We want to celebrate our champions—educators and other frontline healthcare workers are our champions—and they are sometimes overlooked and underappreciated.”
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Samuel-Hodge’s homeroom student, Alyson Monsanto, led callers in nominating her teacher for the prize. During the live broadcast of the winner selection on June 4, Samuel-Hodge said, “This is awesome. I’m so appreciative that Alison did this. I love all my students.”
On July 18, Samuel-Hodge traveled to Orlando, Fla with her daughter Janelle. The trip, valued at more than $4,000, was paid for by Clenance, in conjunction with NBA Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, Neighborhood Pharmacy, Seaborne Airlines, and the Virgin Islands Department of Education.
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Clenance plans to resume “Swag Call” when schools reopen in August. This time, callers will be invited to nominate a deserving student to win a trip, with a guardian, to Disney during the Christmas break. The winner will be announced in December.
“I want to get students enthused about returning to school,” Clenance said. “Students dictate how well the school year will go, and we want them motivated about getting back into the classroom. I look forward to doing this giveaway again.”
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