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The UWI Guild Open Campuses hold awards ceremony

Published:Monday | April 15, 2019 | 12:00 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer
Dr Jerome Miller-Vaz (centre), head, Jamaica Western Region Open Campus country sites with students from the UWI Open Campus

The Guild of The University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus in Ocho Rios and Brown’s Town, St Ann, have, taken up the responsibility of ensuring that outstanding Open Campus students are recognised, with the inaugural Guild Awards Ceremony on Friday night.

With the awards ceremony set to become an annual event, students at the Open Campuses can now look forward to formal recognition for their efforts.

“The awards ceremony is meant to highlight the great achievements of the students as this is one of the mandate of the Guild,” regional vice-president and chapter chair for the Brown’s Town chapter, Kedejah Green told The Gleaner.

“The fact that courses are online makes interaction a little difficult, so we decided to create a legacy for students for the future and joining two campuses when hosting events like this one,” Shaneil Jackson, chapter chair of Ocho Rios further explained.

The ceremony recognised students who have done well academically, those who have done philanthropic and humanitarian work, and also those who are part of the guild who have volunteered their service for worthy causes.

List of awardees

High Grade Point Average: Lloy Bailey, Winsome Clarke, Daniel Green, Kedejah Green, Sydia Sterling, Cassan Jones, Kesha Gray and Patricia Pitterman Stephens.

- Outstanding postgraduate students: Julaine Hibbert, Kasata Phillips-Riley and Shirley-Ann Gooden.

- Humanitarian Award: Lacey Brown and Kesha Gray.

- Breast Cancer Pink Poetry competition: Camilli Hodges and Lysette Hawthorne-Wilson.

- Photo competition: Lacey Brown and Lysette Hawthorne-Wilson.

- Student Guild Philanthropist Award: Kareen Stoddart, Daniel Green, Kedejah Green, Jodie-Ann Fowler, Yanique Grant, Shaneil Jackson, Kesha Gray and Lacey Brown.

- Guild grant recipients: Kesha Gray and Shaneil Jackson.

- Eleven members of the graduating class of 2018 were also recognised.

The event, held at Holiday Haven in Runaway Bay, St Ann, was hosted by Howard Brown, past regional guild president, and attended by Rayon Walters, current regional guild president, Dr Jerome Miller-Vaz, head of Jamaica Western Region Open Campus; Country Sites, who brought greeting; the administrative staff of both chapters; and Karlene Segre, senior staff inspector, National Education Inspectorate.

In her motivational presentation, Segre used her personal journey, which included overcoming several obstacles to achieve her goals, to inspire the students, while guest speaker Mutabaruka also used the opportunity to encourage them.

In hailing the event a success, Jackson and Green, both final-year students, agreed that the event will expand next year.

“Next year we’re planning to do it on a regional status before we graduate; so we want to create a legacy so that other students can follow after,” Jackson explained. She also commended the team for the work put in to make the event successful.

“We pretty much worked countless hours putting it together, seeking sponsorship, reaching out to persons to make this event a success,” Green said.

Sponsors for the event included Achievers Sports and Trophies, Blingers, Ocho Rios; National Commercial Bank, Brown’s Town; Karnack Hardware Ltd; Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, St Ann; General Foods, Ocho Rios; Konoko Falls and Park; Donna’s Hair and Nails, – Brown’s Town, Holiday Heaven, Puerto Seco Beach; Faith-Med Pharmacy, Brown’s Town; and Grand Pharmacy; Brown’s Town.