ROSEAU, Dominica, Nov 10, CMC – The acting President of the Dominica State College, Trudy Christian, says first year student, Keyoni Esprit, had begun making a tremendous impact, describing his unexpected death as “deep, deep sorrow to us as a campus community”.
The body the 16-year-old Esprit, a young student-athlete, was recovered on Monday following a drowning incident at Rockaway on the outskirts of the capital.
“The management, faculty and students of the State College are extremely saddened by the tragic passing of Keyoni Esprit, who was a first-year student here at the Dominica State College, and …so the Faculty of Applied Arts and Technology in particular are very saddened by his passing,” Christian said in a statement.
She said he was also an athlete, who had recently represented the Dominica State College at the Independence Athletics Meet, “in which he did some amazing work for the Dominica State College, securing two medals, a gold and a silver medal for the Dominica State College.
“So it is a very sad time for us as a campus community, and we extend condolences to his family, to his friends, to his teammates particularly at the State College, and to all those who would have known him and loved him.
“Although his time at the Dominica State College was short, but he had already begun making a tremendous impact, and so his loss is of deep, deep sorrow to us as a campus community,” said Christian.
Meanwhile, the Dominica Football Association (DFA) has extended “its heartfelt condolences to Esprit’s mother, Tasha Guiste, who is also a DFA staff member.
The DFA said that it stands in “complete solidarity with her and her family during this incredibly difficult time, mourning the untimely passing of a young life filled with so much potential”.
The Dominica Athletics Association Inc. (DAA Inc.) joined the Pioneers Athletics Club and the wider athletics fraternity, adding that Esprit’s “presence, passion, and dedication to the sport would never be forgotten.
“Your contributions to sports and the community have left ann indelible mark,” it added.
The Dominica Sports Division said Esprit had proudly worn the national colors earlier this year while representing Dominica at the 2026 Windward Islands School Games in St. Lucia, remembering him “as a talent who is gone too soon, but who will remain forever part of Dominica’s sporting family”.
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