Junior Achievement recognises young leaders
JA students who will attend Next Generation Leaders conference (L-R) with presenter Brigitte Kirkconnell Shaughness (third from left): Jonathan Rankine, Rohanna Finch, Jada Ramoon, Aryana Grant, Chanelle Scott, Ethan Watler, Kiara McLaughlin and Bianca Meghoo
(CNS): A record-setting number of people – more than 400 students, parents and volunteers – attended the 24th annual Junior Achievement Awards Ceremony, celebrating one of Cayman’s oldest youth initiatives.
Recognising individual and team performances, 12 awards were granted to students as the leaders in areas including president, finance, human resources, production and sales. In addition, eight students were chosen to attend the Next Generation Leaders conference in Canada.
The annual awards ceremony is also used to recognise and thank those that make Junior Achievement a success.
“I want to thank the volunteers and our corporate ambassadors, Rotary Central, the Chamber of Commerce, the Cayman Islands Government and Dart,” said JA president Paul Byles. “The tremendous success of this youth programme would not have been possible without their efforts.”
This year’s keynote speaker was Kadi Merren-Pentney, the current Young Caymanian Leadership Award recipient, who gave an inspirational speech on young people pursuing their dreams.
Byles also thanked volunteers and board members for their efforts to grow the programme over the years.
“Junior Achievement Cayman Islands has had yet another record-breaking year in terms of the number of students participating,” he said.
He pointed out that the almost 400 students who took in this year’s programme, along with the 16 company sponsors, set records for participation. “The significance of these numbers is that the programme continues to grow and therefore impact many students each year,” Byles added.
One of the highlights of this JA year was the introduction of the entrepreneur’s forum at UCCI, as well as the video challenge, which was another fun way for the youth to get engaged and develop their team-building and other skills.
Byles congratulated the students for their various achievements throughout the year and encouraged them to share their positive experiences with their peers.
This year’s Junior Achievement award winners were:
President of the year – Jonathan Rankine and Beatriz Bueno-Dorea
Vice presidents of the year:
Finance – Bianca Meghoo
Human resources – Britteny Bodden
Marketing – Ethan Watler and Brielle Watler
Production – Casseidy Davis-Quintero
Public relations – Marika Scotland and Chanelle Scott
Salesperson of the year – Kaihana Ross and Kiara McLaughlin
Company of the year – Sokatra, sponsored by Dart
Product of the year – ReStycle, sponsored by UBS
Most promising male achiever – Andre Jennings
Most promising female achiever – Giezis Carbajal-Mejia
Rotary presidential award – Vumi Dube (JA advisor)
Chosen to attend the Next Generation Leaders conference were Jonathan Rankine, Rohanna Finch, Jada Ramoon, Aryana Grant, Chanelle Scott, Ethan Watler, Kiara McLaughlin and Bianca Meghoo.
