The International College of the Cayman Islands (ICCI) celebrated the achievements of its 30 graduates at its 50th Commencement Ceremony on Wednesday 24 May at First Baptist Church.
The evening of awards and conferring of degrees also held some profound speeches, notably from Her Excellency the Governor Mrs. Jane Owen who exhorted graduates to never stop learning, be open to new experiences and teach others what they have learned. Keynote Speaker, past Chairman of the World Wide Web, Mr. Thomas “Tom” Jenkins encouraged graduates to give back, take chances and make a difference.
The Bachelor of Science graduate with the highest honors, Ms. Selena Forbes, Magna Cum Laude, spoke of the students’ experience at ICCI, their challenges of working full time and completing all research papers, discussions, and quizzes on time as well as taking exams and delivering group research papers.
The awards portion of the evening saw a few surprises:
ICCI’s long-serving employee, Accountant Mr. Autry Foster, was awarded the first-ever Dr. Elsa M. Cummings Award for Institutional Service. He is revered by Team ICCI for being meticulous in his duties and “residential historian and reminder” of all important things.
Trustee, SHRM Facilitator/Instructor Ms. Colleen Williams was awarded the Dr. J. Hugh Cummings Memorial Award for Institutional Service. She has been instrumental in forming the SHRM Certification Prep Course and coordinating instructors who are all SHRM-certified professionals to teach the course. She earned her two master’s degrees at ICCI.
The Floris McCoy-McField Memorial Award for Institutional Growth and Development was presented to Nova Recruitment by her daughter Ms. Beth McField who is also an Instructor at ICCI. Nova has partnered with ICCI for six years and consistently provides career development assistance and participates in Career Readiness sessions each term.
Joel Wagstaff, who graduated with an Associate of Science in Business with a concentration in Information Systems Management, was awarded the Barbara Strain Pioneer Award for Institutional Service.
Donique Brooks, who volunteers with five charities/organizations, received the James Manoah Bodden Award for Volunteerism in the Community, which was presented by his grandson James Bodden, a student at ICCI.
At the Master level, awards went to:
Steve Miller for Overall Academic Excellence in the Master of Science in Management HR concentration with a perfect 4.0.
Steve Miller also received Most Outstanding Capstone Project at the Graduate level.
Tomoya Glasgow for Overall Academic Excellent in the Master of Science in Management, HR concentration.
At the Bachelor’s level, awards were presented to:
Selena Forbes for Overall Academic Excellence in the Bachelor’s program.
Selena Forbes in Business Administration at the Bachelor level.
Rochell Foster for Overall Academic Excellence in Finance at the Bachelor level.
Rochell Foster was also awarded for Most Outstanding Capstone Project at the Undergraduate level.
Tashae Lawson for Overall Academic Excellence in Information Technology at the Bachelor level.
At the Associates level, the following graduates were awarded:
Kayla Ebanks for Overall Academic Excellence in Business at the Associates Level
Nyanza Henry- Overall Academic Excellence in the Associates Program.
Nyanza Henry also earned Overall Academic Excellence in Accounting at the Associate level.
Chairman of the ICCI Board of Trustees Mr. Wayne McManus opened the ceremony with greetings and Co-founder, President Emerita, and Trustee, Dr. Elsa Cummings was celebrated by Team ICCI as well as by Hon. Heather Bodden, who also brought congratulatory remarks on behalf of the Minister of Education, Hon. Julianna O’Connor-Conolly.
As a main sponsor, CUC’s VP of Customer Services of Technology Sacha Tibbetts delivered the salute from the corporate community. Other sponsors were Cayman National Bank, Cayman Islands Society of Human Resources Professionals, (CISHRP), Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants (CIIPA), Chamber of Commerce, Nova Recruitment, EY, KPMG and Fosters.
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