High school students across the Cayman Islands had the opportunity to interact with local and overseas college recruiters as part of the first-ever College Week thanks to a partnership between the Youth Services Unit (YSU), Cayman Academy and Home Gas Ltd.
As part of the week’s activities, a series of college fairs were held at Cayman Academy, Clifton Hunter High School and South Sound Community Centre that targeted students in year ten and onwards.
The fairs were a mix of local, regional and overseas higher learning institutions. Institutions included the University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI) and the Inspire Cayman Training Centre. Representatives from regional institutions St George’s University (Grenada), University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus (Barbados) and Northern Caribbean University (Jamaica) were also present to engage with the students in addition to representatives from tertiary institutions New England Institute of Technology, Ontario Tech University and The University of Law (UK).
Darisa Applewhaite, Guidance Counsellor at Cayman Academy, shared “I hope that more students are aware of the options that exist for higher education. Charting our future is so essential and College Week can be one of the tools they use to help them make the right choices.”
She also added “In the case of the fair held at Cayman Academy, the entire high school was exposed to the event. This is why College Week was structured in this way; for us to go into the schools. Cayman Academy and Layman Scott students who attended our venue were generally happy with the programme. They requested more colleges next year and snacks.”
Acting Head of the YSU, James Myles outlined the purpose of the fairs. “The fairs are aimed at inspiring young people, some of whom may not have previously thought about college to consider tertiary studies as an option.”
To close the week’s activities, the YSU and Cayman Academy hosted an information session for parents of prospective students at the Grand Old House on Thursday, 23rd January.
By: Darisa Applewhaite. Devarro Whittaker l Edited by Nelda Dracket l Photo credit: Devarro Whittaker
