Governor hosts reception for mentoring programme
(L-R) Governor Helen Kilpatrick, mentor Rebekah Brooks, student Brianna Bodden, Chamber president-elect Paul Byles and Assistant Chief Officer Joel Francis
(CNS Local Life): The 2017 Mentoring Cayman programme concluded 1 June with the students graduating at a reception held at the residence of Governor Helen Kilpatrick, who serves as the patron of the initiative. This year’s group of young people comprised 45 high-achieving, year 11 students from a range of local schools, personally selected by their principals and then partnered with a business, community or government leader, who mentor them during workplace visits over nine months.
The Chamber of Commerce has annually run Mentoring Cayman since its inception in 2002, in partnership with the Ministry of Community Affairs, Youth & Sports (previously the Ministry of Education).
Over the course of the programme year, the mentors and mentees met on a monthly basis during workplace visits and attended numerous social events, including a luncheon and a cruise.
This year for the first time the Chamber also hosted two additional workshops for the students. The first was a careers workshop in which local professionals from a range of different industries spoke to the young people; the second was an educational seminar during which universities came to the Chamber to meet the students and deliver presentations about their institutions.
The governor welcomed the guests to the reception, after which the Chamber’s president-elect, Paul Byles, said, “The mentor-mentee relationship is vital for personal and professional development; all of you here this evening should be proud for the development you have made this year.
“Although the programme has ended for this year, do not forget to continue your development. As high-achieving students, you are the future of the Cayman Islands, and as such you should continue to develop your skills and enrich your lives.”
The mentors and mentees were then called upon to collect their awards for graduating from the programme, posing for photos with the governor, Byles and Joel Francis, the Assistant Chief Officer of the Ministry of Community Affairs, Youth & Sports.
Noting the more than 500 students who have come through the programme since 2002, Chamber CEO Wil Pineau said, “These outstanding students have gone on to achieve great accomplishments, and many have been employed by their mentor. To see these young Caymanians become so successful thanks in part to the Mentoring Cayman programme is phenomenal, and we are eager to continue this programme for the long-term future.”
Category: Education
