COB Alumni Magazine, Fall/Winter 2011

Transcription

THE
COLLEGE
FALL / WINTER 2011
O F T H E BA H A M A S A L U M N I M AG A Z I N E
Henry
Knowles
A Second
Chance
IN THIS ISSUE
Fund
Annual
1
Remember your
resolution to
impact lives and
change the world?
You still can do
that today.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
College President Dr. Betsy V. Boze connects themes of rituals and
traditions to the standards of excellence that will underpin important
institutional transitions.
4
The Art of Storytelling
Jace McKinney, AA ‘05
FORGET TRADITION
Alumnus Ancilleno Davis, AA ‘02, challenges graduates to eschew the
traditional and embrace the innovative to choose difference-making
paths that will revolutionise the way we think and live.
Make a gift to the annual fund.
Every dollar has life changing
value.
“As an alumna of The
College, I think it is only fair
to give back and support
students who are working
hard and making good
grades but just need a little
extra support.”
3
4
8 Blue Holes
Michael Pateman
THE ART OF STORYTELLING
Through his masterful illustrations and paintings, visual artist Jace
Mckinney, AA ‘05, weaves intricate tales to preserve and shape the
Bahamian identity.
8
- Kelly Knowles, AA’82
BLUE HOLES
A national campaign to raise awareness and protect the deep blue
networks beneath the earth’s surface continues to gain momentum,
strengthened by some of the most intriguing discoveries known to man.
To give, visit http://my.cob.edu.bs/, call us at (242) 302-4359
or send an email to: [email protected].
14 A Second Chance
Henry Knowles, AA ‘93
14
WHEN A SECOND
CHANCE LEADS
TO THE FAMILY’S
FIRST
LOVE
Born into a distinctive legacy in education,
Henry Knowles, AA ‘93, shares how the
second chance he received as a teenager
became one of his most important guiding
principles.
18
DONOR STORIES
The Harry C. Moore Library and Information
Centre opens at The College; a generous gift of
$400,000 supports budding artists; benefactors
of the arts make a defining investment in the
Winston Saunders Memorial Endowment and
the Lyford Cay Foundation establishes the
Edith Lady Turnquest Memorial Endowment.
22
COLLEGE
HAPPENINGS
In recent college developments, new academic
programmes are added, Dr. Betsy V. Boze
is installed as College President; the new
Northern Bahamas Campus is officially
opened; Accounting major Tamara Myers sets
a national triple jump record and The College
hosts a very successful Open House.
29
ALUMNI CIRCLE
Meet new Alumni Relations and Annual Fund
Associate John Mogk who is experienced in
cultivating philanthropic relationships, alumni
relations and student affairs. Plus, catch up
with alumni friends making a difference in
their communities.
Dear Alumni and Friends
MAGAZINE TEAM
BAHAMAS INFORMATION SERVICES Photography
DAVINIA BLAIR Director of Development, Alumni Relations & Development
ANCILLENO DAVIS, AA ’02 Guest Editorial
DODD COMMUNICATIONS Print Production
DOMINIC DUNCOMBE Photography
KANDICE ELDON Writer
A. GABRIELLA FRASER, AA ’89 Associate Vice President, External Affairs
KARMA DESIGN Magazine Concept, Graphic Design & Layout
DONALD KNOWLES Photography
TAMEKA LUNDY, AA ’93 Associate Editor, Senior Writer
KENDRA MOSS, AA ’98 Assistant, Alumni Relations & Annual Fund
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER Photography
JESSICA ROBERTSON Contributing Editor
THEA RUTHERFORD Contributing Writer
MAELYNN SEYMOUR-MAJOR Writer
ROGAN SMITH, AA ‘00 Contributing Writer
COLLEGE CONTACTS
PRESIDENT
Dr. Betsy V. Boze
Tel: 302-4318 • Email: [email protected]
ALUMNI SOCIETY
Troy Strachan, AA ‘96, Chairman
Tel: 302-4359 • Email:[email protected]
ALUMNI RELATIONS & DEVELOPMENT
Davinia Blair, Director of Development
John Mogk, Alumni Relations & Annual Fund Associate
CONTINUING EDUCATION & EXTENSION SERVICES
Christina Nwosa, Director
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
A. Gabriella Fraser, AA ’89, Associate Vice President
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
Cheryl Simms, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
FINANCIAL AID
Cheryl Carey, Director
GRADUATE PROGRAMMES
Sonya Wisdom, Director
HARRY C. MOORE LIBRARY & INFORMATION CENTRE
Tel: 302-4552
HUMAN RESOURCES
Renee Mayers, Associate Vice-President
LIBRARIES & INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA SERVICES
Willamae Johnson, Director
NORTHERN BAHAMAS CAMPUS
Earla Carey Baines, Interim Associate Vice President
Tel: (242) 352-9761 • Email: [email protected]
PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE
Tel: 302-4369
REGISTRAR (TRANSCRIPTS)
Danny Davis, AA ’84
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Valdez Russell, International Relations Liaison
STUDENT AFFAIRS
Colyn Major, Vice President
WELLNESS CENTRE
Bradley Cooper, Manager
of The College of The Bahamas,
TRADITIONS AND TRANSITIONS
C
elebrations, rituals and traditions mark
major milestones and transitions in our lives.
Awards, recognitions and commencements
symbolise transitions in the same way that birthdays,
weddings and funerals do in other areas of our lives.
Several new traditions have been created at The
College of The Bahamas and several transitions are
underway.
One new tradition is an annual campus theme,
the first of which is “Migrations.” The theme will
be incorporated into every aspect of the student
experience, from the moment our students set
foot on campus. Focus will be on the migration of
culture through the media and the arts, as well as
human migration and the migration of other species.
Issues may include the effects of migration from the
Family Islands to New Providence, or other matters
of social significance such as diversity, tolerance,
civility, illegal immigration and the “brain drain”
caused by Bahamians moving abroad. Faculty will
be encouraged to research the migration of invasive
plants, animals and diseases.
In the spirit of transparency, we have begun the
tradition of hosting open budget hearings where each
Dean and Vice President as well as the Librarian,
Registrar and others discuss their budget, operations
and discuss the benefits of any additional funding.
To recognize and reward our students’ academic
success, we have begun several new traditions.
This spring, we prominently posted the names of
our prestigious Dean’s List and President’s List
scholars in several places around our campuses. In
September, outstanding students will be feted at a
reception in their honour, and receive certificates to
commemorate their achievement. Women who were
on the President’s List this spring semester will have
professional mentoring opportunities with Bahamian
members of the International Women’s Forum.
Exciting transitions move us steadily toward
university status. This spring, we opened the Harry
President of The College of The Bahamas
Dr. Betsy V. Boze
C. Moore Library and Information Centre and our
new Northern Bahamas Campus. Several key
administrative appointments have been made. A
President’s Cabinet has been created and the new
organisational structure will include a Vice President
of Operations and Vice President of Advancement.
This fall, we launched our second master’s degree, the
Master of Science in Reading, and have an aggressive
ten-year plan for offering new degree programmes to
meet student demands and important national needs.
We welcomed an exceptional group of fifteen new
faculty representing six international countries, all
enriching our academic and cultural fabric.
The College is rapidly achieving the three final
transitions of readiness to be a university. Over the
next three years, each academic programme will
undergo a review to ensure that we are delivering
the best quality in the most appropriate and efficient
manner. The first of these will be completed in
December. We are reviewing and determining peer
and aspirant universities so that we can benchmark
our operations against them. And we are in the final
stages of developing a system of shared governance
including an academic senate.
I hope that if you haven’t already you will visit the
new library and see the difference that it makes in
the lives of our students and how it has changed the
vision for what The College of The Bahamas can be.
Alumni Magazine - Fall / Winter 2011 • PAGE 1
Guest editorial by
Ancilleno Davis, AA ‘02
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
O
ver the past few years, there has been much talk
of change and growth at The College of The
Bahamas, but as you drive along Thompson
Boulevard, it’s clear that change and growth are not
simply buzzwords.
The new Harry C. Moore Library and Information Centre
is an imposing structure that changes the look and feel
of the main campus and takes it yet another crucial step
towards the highly sought after University status.
In Grand Bahama, change is palpable as well with the
opening of the new northern campus which will serve as
the institution’s centre for the BA in Maritime Studies.
And our new President, Betsy V. Boze, who we
introduced you to in our last issue, was officially invested
earlier this year.
But while all this change is going on, certain things
remain constant. Students of The College and graduates
continue to excel in their chosen fields. In many cases,
alumni have gone on to become agents of change for The
Bahamas.
We introduce you to Henry Knowles, AA ’93, who kept
a long-standing family tradition of teaching alive when
he changed course and made his way into the classroom,
and Eric Carey, AA ’83, and Michael Pateman, who along
with other professionals are passionate about changing
the average Bahamian’s understanding of the importance
of blue holes to the country’s well being.
In our Alumni Guest Editorial Ancilleno Davis, AA
’02, speaks to the importance of young Bahamians
pursuing less traditional career choices and The College
welcomes generous gifts from donors to the Astarita Art
Endowment, the Lady Turnquest Culinary Endowment,
and the Winston Saunders Memorial Endowment.
As proven in our Footprints section, many COB alumni
are already pursuing the road less traveled. Established
chef Keshlah Smith, AA ’98, has found a niche as a
restaurant consultant; Shaun Ingraham, AA ’90, is helping
to rebuild communities across the globe following
disasters; and husband and wife Kenneth Romer, AA ’93
and Courtnee Benjamin-Romer, AA ’97, are both proof
that it’s never too late to change course and pursue other
dreams and interests.
MORE ALUMNI IN THIS ISSUE
Henry Knowles, AA ’93
Former Secretary General, Bahamas
Conference of the Methodist Church
PAGE 2 • Alumni Magazine - Fall / Winter 2011
Jace McKinney, AA ’05
Artist
Keshlah Smith, AA ‘98
Proprietor,
Essence Catering
Shaun Ingraham, AA ‘90
South Eleuthera
Emergency Partners
T
FORGET TRADITION
oday, as I write, two Bahamian students from
The College of The Bahamas are on The Global
Reef Expedition. Chefs prepare 5 star meals
for them three times a day. They sleep on a 200 meter
motor yacht owned by Prince Khaled bin Sultan,
with access to wireless satellite Internet, a television,
DVD player and stereo in their room. The boat has
an elevator capable of lifting a
sea plane onto the deck, along
with the other eight small boats
on board the larger vessel. One
of the small tenders even has
wheels to drive up on land. That
is just the tip of the ice berg.
These students are part of the
future of science in The Bahamas,
and that is where the real story
is. Like most Bahamians with a
gift for science, they have felt the
push toward medical science,
pharmacy, dentistry, but they
pushed back. They chose a path
that did not lead to small offices
and clinics, being locked up in
a lab or seeing sick people all
day. They felt the drive toward
something else. Their office now
spans the entire Cay Sal Bank.
They are working with some of
Ancilleno Davis, AA ‘02
the most advanced technologies
and techniques. They sit down
daily with leaders in coral reef science. Their
experience will help them protect the future of our
marine resources.
Sadly, we are few. Not all Bahamians know how to
swim. Bahamians that SCUBA dive are even fewer.
Add to our qualifications an interest in science and
wildlife, computer literacy and the willingness to
work in remote locations for little to no pay and the
numbers of Bahamians ready for the task at hand are
few indeed.
Tradition dictates that we go to school, do well, try
for college if you can and are able to afford it, study
something safe for a sure job when you come home
or sadly, don’t come home. Forget tradition. Our jobs
are far from traditional, we are the future. Scientists
that will discover the next chemical compound
to revolutionize medicine, or prevent our Nassau
Grouper fishery from collapsing like other Caribbean
nations, to ensure food security and livelihoods for
our ocean nation.
Our jobs are not exactly safe
either. With three science degrees,
I worked as a pool cleaner before
I found my current position and
I have seen people come and go.
I have fallen in sink holes miles
from the nearest road. I have been
stranded on remote islands with
no communication. I have fallen
in holes on remote islands with no
communication. Still, I wouldn’t
change a thing.
I have been to San Salvador in the
East, Grand Bahama in the North,
Inagua in the South and The Cay
Sal Bank in the west. I have seen
our iguanas, hutias, hummingbirds,
orioles and parrots, found nowhere
else in the world. I have spoken
with our Prime Ministers, and
Governors General, and our
preschoolers, college graduates
and teachers. I work to protect the
Bahamas’ natural resources from
overharvest. I am challenged every day. My job is not
traditional and I love it.
Ancilleno Davis is the Conservation Coordinator for the Nature
Conservancy, a non-profit organization that protects nature and
preserves wildlife. He has spent most of his career helping to
provide key data, advice and support on environmental matters
for the government and organizations like the Bahamas National
Trust [BNT], the Bahamas Reef Environmental and Educational
Foundation [BREEF] and the Andros Conservancy. He earned a
BSc in Environmental Science and an MSc in Marine Estuarine
and Environmental Science from the University of Maryland,
Eastern Shore and an AA in Biology with Chemistry from The
College of The Bahamas.
Art
The
...
of
By Maelynn Seymour-Major
Storytelling
wide world of art in afterschool classes with artist
Sue Bennet-Williams, who would later teach him
at The College of The Bahamas. “She introduced
me to fine art, the history of art and a number of
Renaissance artists. This gave me a good foundation,”
he remembers.
Although his work has appeared in international
art shows including the United States, Africa and
Hawaii, Jace is a relative newcomer to the Bahamian
art scene. His paintings were recently showcased
at New Providence Art and Antiques in a show
called ‘Dreaming’, a featured stop in this year’s
Transforming Spaces art tour; an event celebrated
annually by local art enthusiasts. His first solo show
‘Theophany’ was just months before, in December
2010 at Popop Studios. Jace has also illustrated the
Bahamian children’s story Lenny in the Big Yard,
written by Natasha Turnquest.
W
hat we live on this planet is one big
story,” asserts Jace McKinney, AA
’05, who has an uncanny ability to
tell stories through his paintings and
illustrations. In his own inimitable style, these media
are his conduit for celebrating Bahamian culture.
Jace showed interest in art and displayed a talent
for drawing at an early age. As a young school boy,
he began to discover the breadth of his skills and
Illustration was a natural fit for Jace who was
initially interested in comic book art. “I just like the
storytelling and I like sequence art. I lost interest for
a while as I studied fine art, but got back into it when
I attended the Rhode Island School of Design [RISD].
There was a whole store dedicated to comic books
and comic book art, and I could see the merging
of the two [comics and fine art]. I was studying
sculpture at RISD because I wanted to get beyond the
canvas and work in a new medium, but I wanted to
work with other media, so I took classes in film and
illustration. And it was in illustration that I found my
niche. Even my work in sculpture was based around
a story; I just couldn’t get away from it,” he explains.
It was through his illustration class that Jace really
grasped the keys to storytelling. “We learned how
to develop characters,” he recalls “we studied Joseph
Campbell and learned about myths and tales and the
“Our culture is rich with storytelling. We gossip
and tell ghost stories...They help us to dream
and it is through dreaming that we get ideas.”
“Together we saw more than the business
of producing a book. We thought about
how this could impact our community. We
wanted to inspire other artists to say ‘we
can do this, let’s produce something’,” he
recalls of that experience.
Jace McKinney, AA ‘05, working at Popop Studios on new characters for an upcoming project.
hero’s journey and just how storytelling has an impact
on our history. His story, her story, everything that
is recorded has a story and is a story because it has a
beginning and an end.”
For Jace, it’s important
that the beginning
and end of every
story that he tells
has a middle that
embraces our culture.
“Our culture is rich
with storytelling. We
gossip and tell ghost
stories as children. We
have the legend of the
chicharney, that impish
character. We need
these things, not just
children, but adults too.
They help us to dream.
And it is through
dreaming that we get
ideas, innovative ideas.
Who knows who or
what will tell our stories and as an artist, moving
forward, that is what I am interested in doing.”
Inspired by his work with authors of children’s books,
Jace also developed an interest in writing, and is now
working on his own stories for children. “Writing
children’s stories and illustrating them is right up my
alley, particularly writing and developing stories that
will help to preserve and shape the Bahamian identity
specifically. To inspire a cultural understanding
amongst children who don’t get to travel [around
The Bahamas] is important and can be done through
storytelling.”
Jace is also keen to get
Bahamian children
reading; something
he feels is missing
today, particularly
in education. “We
are faced with
a technological
onslaught. It’s like
reading and books
are obsolete. I mean,
it’s good for the trees,
but we need books.
Even the design of the
book helps you move
through the story; the
cover, the way the
pages are laid out. It
moves you through the beginning, middle and end.
You don’t quite get that online.”
The opportunity to collaborate with other artists is
something that Jace looks forward to. After working
on Lenny in the Big Yard he feels that painters, writers,
and artists in general, should collaborate more often.
Working in and with different media has
given Jace a range of work to showcase
in his portfolio. However, the work is
unmistakably stamped with his unique
touch. “At COB I remember Sue BennetWilliams telling me that my style is like
a thumbprint, and no matter what I did I
would always be able to see my style in
what I produced. With that approach I
looked at working with different media for
the first time and I really opened myself to
experimenting and creating a style that was
me in whatever I chose to work with.”
Jace’s thumbprint was evident throughout
the ‘Dreaming’ exhibition. His beautifully
blended style of caricature and animation
with fine art are a hallmark of distinction.
Jace’s work truly reveals the talent of a
Bahamian artist, connected not only to his
culture and country, but also to wider issues
in the world. To the viewer, his work is a
doorway. It can lead to visions of fancy and
creative cultural adventure well beyond
the canvas or the page. A visual artist with
already so many dimensions, more than
anything, Jace McKinney is a wonderfully
artful storyteller.
Jace McKinney earned an AA degree in Art from
The College of The Bahamas in 2005 and a BFA
degree from the Rhode Island School of Design
in 2010.
“The Great Architect: Theatre of Oblivion,” 2010 by Jace McKinney, AA ‘05
The quest to preserve
the past and protect
the future
W
henever world renowned cave diver Brian
Kakuk talks about the amazing underwater
cave systems that exist beneath the earth’s
surface – like he did at The College of The Bahamas for
a special sustainability forum in April – his fascination
is palpable.
An ex-U.S. Navy diver who moved to The Bahamas
in the late 1980s, Brian has been where many people
have not – plunging into mammouth sinkholes and
relentlessly probing their cavernous depths. He
and other underwater cave divers have uncovered
scientific treasure troves that have helped to fuel
a national campaign to protect some of the most
remarkable wonders on Earth.
For many years, blue holes have been extraordinary
mysteries. But in the last two decades, through the
ambition of intrepid cave explorers and the vision of a
network of historical preservationists, environmental
advocates and scientists, the mystery is slowly being
solved for a purpose far greater than the perceptible
risks of exploring them.
“For the last 20 years, we’ve been exploring these
places and doing research, but not much of the
research findings were getting to the people that
matter – Bahamians. We are trying to get the
information out there as to why these holes in the
ground are important,” says Brian, founder of the
Bahamas Caves Research Foundation.
An archipelagic network of shallow limestone banks,
The Bahamas is home to hundreds of submarine
sinkholes and cave systems more commonly called
blue holes. While the ocean holes carry seawater, they
are intricately connected to their inland counterparts
that are virtual reservoirs of freshwater. This is
why the destruction or degradation of one system
invariably affects the other and why preserving them
all is so vital.
blue holes
7:06 pm
e, Long
March 26th, 2011 at 4:07pm
Valentines Cave, Eleuthera
in complete
swear I
ep and then
ying...”Eagle,
unar landing”.
u are only 100
nshine and
t beautiful
h, this place
ould be on
the moon.”
“I’m having a blast on
the island of Eleuthera
collecting cave critters
and bones with some great
research friends... What
a very cool place with
passages half above and
half below water. It is
shaping up to be quite an
expedition!” - Brian
The campaign to raise awareness and protect these
sensitive aquatic mazes scored a major victory in 2002
when the Government of The Bahamas designated
a 10-mile, 50,000 acre expanse of land in Andros as a
protected area. Blue Holes National Park preserves
the largest concentration of blue holes in The Bahamas
along with two amazing portions of the Andros
Barrier Reef – the third longest in the world – and
mangrove and wetland nurseries. The momentum
has grown in recent years, driven by astonishing
discoveries. Brian and his extreme diving colleagues
unearthed the oldest fossilised Lucayan remains in
the Northern Bahamas – 1040 years old – along with
54 extinct crocodiles, 13 land tortoises, and 30 species
of birds, bats, snakes and plants – the most significant
discoveries in the West Indies. Although the National
Museum of The Bahamas (NMB) and the Antiquities
Monuments and Museums Corporation (AMMC)
keep these fascinating treasures in repository sites in
New Providence and Abaco, local and international
scientists continue to study them.
The AMMC, NMB, along with Friends of the
Environment, Bahamas National Trust and the
Bahamas Caves Research Foundation have submitted
a joint proposal to the government to protect a ninemile long stretch of land in Abaco. It would preserve
a network of 17 blue holes including four inland
sinkholes: Dan’s Cave, Sawmill Sink, Ralph’s Chimney
and Nancy’s Cave and 13 offshore blue holes as well
as pinelands, mangroves and coppice. The proposal
for the South Abaco Blue Holes Conservation Area has
been preliminarily approved by the Department of
Lands and Surveys and is being reviewed by the Office
of the Prime Minister, responsible for crown land. It
proposes the preservation of sensitive eco-systems
“while promoting them as one of Abaco’s great
natural wonders.” While advocates await government
sanction, they have been holding town meetings,
conducting surveys and collecting signatures of
support.
local museum, a painstaking process that often takes
years.
In the absence of the desired level of legal protection,
scientists and cave explorers remain diligent.
Palaeontologist, Nancy Albury, Abaco Project
Coordinator for The Antiquities, Monuments and
Museums Corporation and the National Museum
of the Bahamas, is studying fossils found in blue
holes around The Bahamas. She has also been on the
front lines of the discoveries and found a preserved
crocodile skull, reminiscent of a species of Cuban
“My interest is largely to protect our history and
hoping that we can give local people a sense of
ownership of these sites that are in their backyards
and often become places in which they would deposit
trash,” says Nancy. “In addition to it polluting our
environment, our subterranean environment and
our water resources, it is also covering our historical
artefacts that we see in these blue holes.”
it is not going to happen. But we are making some
headway, especially when people realise the history
that is down there.”
In 2009, stunning images of an intriguing world
beneath the surface of the Earth were captured for
international broadcast and publication; fascinating
scenes of millions of crystallised stalactites, stalagmites
and mystifying organisms. The AMMC collaborated
with the scientific media including National
“Keeping these blue holes
protected is of greater value
than people’s immediate
needs” - Eric Carey
A Blue Hole in Little Abaco (Photo by: Nancy Albury)
A crocodile skull recovered from the Sawmill Sink blue hole in Abaco.
(Photo by Nancy Albury)
A polluted blue hole filled with discarded items. (Photo by: Nancy Albury)
crocodiles, on an expedition into Dan’s Cave in 1994.
She has been working with the Florida Museum of
Natural History to study the remains. These relics are
often sent abroad for further investigation by scientists
with particular specialties and then returned to the
Bahamian archaeologist Michael Pateman examines the fossilised tortoise shell
also recovered during a blue hole dive.
She also helped draft the proposal for the South
Abaco Blue Holes Conservation Area, but realises
that protecting blue holes from pollution and
irreversible disruption ultimately means changing
human behaviour. “If we do not educate people,
The skull of a male Lucayan Indian that was buried
in the silt in Sanctuary Blue Hole in South Andros.
April 10th 2011 at 5:32p.m.
Dean’s Blue Hole, Long
Island
April 12th 2011 - 7:06 pm
Dean’s Blue Hole, Long
Island
“Just arrived in Deadman’s
Cay, Long Island for a 3 day
shoot with Globo TV from
Brazil. We will be shooting
the amazing Dean’s Blue
Hole, the deepest blue hole
in the world at 663 feet
deep! This site should be
on everyone’s bucket list,
whether you are a diver or
not!” - Brian
“We hung there in complete
blackness and I swear I
could hear a beep and then
a radio voice saying...”Eagle,
you are go for lunar landing”.
Even though you are only 100
meters from sunshine and
one of the most beautiful
beaches on earth, this place
feels like you could be on
the far side of the moon.”
- Brian
protection and conservation proposals to the
government. While laying out the arguments for
why the protection of marine areas is so important,
conversely, it has also been asked to advise on the
ideal areas for development.
Geographic Magazine and Nova to finance the
awesome expedition into the blue holes of Abaco,
Andros and five other islands.
Bahamian archaeologist and cave diver, Michael
Pateman, was a part of the mission. In 2009, he
and Brian returned to the intriguing depths of
Sanctuary blue hole in Andros where deep-sea diving
extraordinaire, the late Rob Palmer discovered 17
extinct species of tortoise in the 1990s. Michael, a
former student of The College of The Bahamas, was
intrigued by the Lucayan remains that had been found
and was eager to join the cave diving team.
“Since I had studied them once they came out of the
water, I wanted to be there for any other recoveries.
These discoveries would help me better understand
Lucayan burial practices and why they were putting
these people in the blue holes,” says Michael.
“Sanctuary was a very eerie place to dive. It looks like
a crack in the rock and at first does not look like a blue
hole. Once you dive in you cannot see anything for the
first 20 feet because the gasses are so thick. Once we
got into the burial area, it was an amazing experience.”
This is the kind of connection that environmental
advocates are hoping many more people will
experience as they begin to appreciate the underwater
wonders and realize their significance to our past,
present and future.
Environmental protection and conservation have also
moved up the list of legislative priorities. Recently,
three key pieces of environmental legislation took
effect with provisions that could ultimately impact
delicate eco-systems like blue holes. Provisions of the
2010 Forestry Act give the Director of Forestry the
power to establish conservation forests and prohibit
activities that could threaten their preservation by
reducing development in agro-forestry, reserve and
protected areas. The 2010 Land and Subdivisions
Act, that allows for public scrutiny of developments,
mandates a land use plan for every island in the
Bahamian archipelago. The 2010 Amendment to the
Bahamas National Trust Act, which increases the
members of the Council to include The College of The
Bahamas and the University of Florida, also widens
the organisation’s statutory mandate to advise the
government and private sector on development,
policies, conservation and biodiversity issues.
Some of the least explored but most threatened
habitats on Earth, the stunning blue holes of The
Bahamas are casting a new spotlight on a country that
has long captivated the world’s attention.
“We have been told that through all of the different
media, 40 million people on planet Earth now know
what blue holes are and that they are in The Bahamas
and we are really proud that we have gotten the word
out to so many people,” says Brian.
However, Executive Director of the Bahamas National
Trust Eric Carey, AA ’83, says competing economic and
developmental interests also need to be considered.
“People want to know how much do you really need
to set aside for conservation, so you have to convince
the decision makers that an intact blue hole national
park has greater value long term for the protection
of resources, our way of life and ensuring we have a
sustainable supply of water,” says Eric. “You have to
convince the government that keeping these blue holes
protected is of greater value than people’s immediate
or emergent needs to build houses or to do farming.”
This is why the Bahamas National Trust has been
asked to elaborate on another dimension of its
2
nd
When a chance leads
to the Family’s love
/////////////////////////////////////////// By Tameka Lundy
B
eing in the wrong place at the wrong time
would normally spell disaster for most people,
especially when they’ve been locked up by
the police for being involved in a serious
disturbance at a major commercial centre and the
prospect of jail looms large. But in Henry Knowles’,
AA ’93, case, those two wrongs – and being hauled off
to the police station to confront the consequences of
his impetuous actions – turned out to be just the right
disruption to change his life forever.
At the age of 16, a police officer gave a terrified Henry
a choice - incarceration, or freedom, albeit conditional
freedom, with the caveat of twice-weekly reporting
to the police. He’s been paying that goodwill forward
ever since; giving hundreds of young people the kind
of second chance he received as a misguided teenager.
Henry is both the confident, self assured authority
figure who stands at the front of the class and the
nurturing and inspirational mentor that has earned the
respect and admiration of his students.
“To me that officer in charge didn’t have to give me
that choice; that was a defining moment in my life. He
chose to do that to make a difference in my life and
from that moment on my life’s goal was to give people
second chances to make a difference in their lives and
that is who I have become,” says Henry, who was
1
st
literally scared straight that day.
Determined not to squander his gift of a clean slate,
seven months later, Henry was a Biology with
Chemistry major at The College of The Bahamas and
well on his way to becoming a doctor — or so he
thought. But sometimes life throws the occasional
curve ball, some say as a test of our fortitude, others
believe to keep us receptive to opportunities. For
Henry, it was the latter. Five years later he was back
home after graduating from Luther College in Iowa
with two baccalaureate degrees: one in Biology and
the other in Psychology. His goal: to find a job to
help finance his next step, a graduate degree. What
followed enriched his family’s legacy in education.
“I needed to find a job and I was willing to teach on a
Family Island. I have always been around teaching and
it felt like a natural fit, so I applied to the Ministry of
Education and in October I got a phone call telling me I
had been appointed to the Mangrove Cay High School,
so in two days I packed up and I was in Mangrove Cay,
Andros, as a Math and Science teacher.”
Five years after moving to Mangrove Cay, Henry was
back in the capital and at The College of The Bahamas
getting a teaching certificate, while teaching first at
S.C. McPherson then at Queen’s College.
////////////////////////////////////////////
“When you have
a male in the
classroom who is
able to show love
and takes the time to
listen you are making
a tremendous impact”
////////////////////////////////////////////
The last of ten children, Henry grew up in a
family headed by educators. His parents who
were also lay preachers in the Methodist church,
spent most of their lives teaching in schools
throughout The Bahamas. Henry is a third
generation teacher in the Knowles family line,
a legacy started with his paternal grandfather,
Robert Knowles. His father Carl Knowles, a lauded
high school principal and his mother, Minerva
Knowles, Certificate ’96, a widely respected primary
school teacher, are the examples he’s done his best to
emulate; particularly in the classroom.
These days, though, Henry’s classroom
extends well beyond the boundaries of simple
school walls. He also imparts his life lessons
as a father and lay preacher. The path to the
church is another led by the footsteps of his
parents and he especially enjoys ministering to
the youth.
“The standard I set for my children is that I
wanted them to know God, know what is truth,
the difference between right and wrong and I
wanted them to aspire to a profession that they
would be proud of and we would be proud of
them and we are,” said Mrs. Knowles.
Henry Knowles, AA ‘93 and his mother, Minerva, reminisce about their experiences while going through a family album.
“In all of the kids I saw me,” he says. “A teacher has
more contact hours with kids than parents do so
whatever influence they get in school has the greatest
likelihood of shaping them. In the Bahamian context,
the male is not the nurturing figure; the male is pure
testosterone and to show love and emotion is to show
weakness, so when you have a male in the classroom
who is able to show love, who cares and takes the time
to listen, you are making a tremendous impact.”
These lessons were ones Henry’s mother knew long
before her son did, back in the days when teachers
were revered. They were the final authority in the
classroom, which spilled over into the community
as well, especially in the charming settlements of the
Family Islands. Running the classroom with the same
precision she ran her household, Mrs. Knowles left no
room for mediocrity. She agrees however that things
are different in today’s schools.
“I can say definitely there is a big difference between
students back then and those now in the classroom. In
1967 when I was teaching at Mangrove Cay, Andros,
the children were so humble you could have left
your classroom and returned and met the same quiet
classroom. They were obedient and willing to learn,
but today things have changed,” she said.
Henry’s life models the standards set by his
parents. He came full circle this year, returning
to the A.F. Adderley School as the head of the
Graduation Class of 1991 Reunion Planning
Committee. A far cry from the bullied, timid
and unfocused teenager he was back then, he
wondered for one pensive moment whether
roaming the halls was another young,
unsuspecting student ready to receive a
second chance.
Keniqua
Knowles- Symonette
Krista Knowles
Left: Henry with his mother; Top Right: Keniqua Knowles-Burrows, BEd ‘08;
Bottom Right: Krista Knowles, BEd ‘10
Fast forward to 2006. Mrs. Knowles, then a teacher at
the Carmichael Primary School in New Providence,
recalled being hauled before the principal and
confronted by the infuriated parent of a child she had
disciplined for disruptive behaviour in the classroom.
“Teachers should have the power to control their
classrooms. I remember several times I asked the
principal ‘Are you going to manage my class from
the office because I am the teacher in the classroom
I should have full control?’” recounted the sturdy
matriarch with the kind of resolve that comes with the
wisdom of experience.
Mrs. Knowles – the child of a farmer and a fisherman
– admitted that although she loved teaching, she
envisioned her children choosing other, more
financially rewarding, professions. But God and fate
had other plans. In addition to Henry and his sister,
Arlene Knowles-Symonette, becoming teachers, two
of his nieces, Keniqua Knowles-Burrows, BEd ’09
and Kristia Knowles, BEd, ’10, have also joined the
family business. Two others are currently enrolled
in the School of Education at The College of The
Bahamas including Krystal who aims to complete her
programme in December.
DONORS
An Enduring Gift to the Arts
Harry C. Moore
Library & Information Centre Opens
1
On Friday, April 8th, Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Hubert
Ingraham officially opened the Harry C. Moore Library
and Information Centre - named after a man who
devoted his life to the advancement of education.
Mr. Moore was an outstanding friend of The College and advocate
of the library project who persuaded friends and members of the
Lyford Cay Foundation to contribute, securing an extraordinary $5
million commitment. In addition to faculty and staff contributions, the
Government and the Lynden Pindling Foundation have also financially
supported the library project.
2
3
3. Dame Marguerite Pindling, widow of Sir Lynden Pindling, attended the opening ceremony. The Sir Lynden O. Pindling Foundation
gave $300,000 toward a $500,000 commitment for the library which will house a permanent exhibition in honour of Sir Lynden’s
life and legacy.
4. Performing the ribbon cutting from left were: Minister of Education, Hon. Desmond Bannister; College Council Chair, Mr. T.
Baswell Donaldson; Mrs. Monique Moore; Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham and College President Dr. Betsy V. Boze.
4
and is very highly regarded in the national community.
It is known as much for the graduates that have gone
on to acclaimed careers in art, as for the faculty in the
programme, among them, Antonius Roberts, John Cox,
Heino Schmidt, Toby Lunn, Lillian Blades and Tavares
Strachan.
A fortuitous opportunity to run an advertising agency
lured the Astaritas to The Bahamas more than five
decades ago. They were hired immediately after
a successful interview. Even as a youngster, good
fortune favoured Helen. As a child she attended the
Bayside High School
in New York, which
had a thriving art
programme.
Asked what motivated her to give and to give so
generously to The College, Mrs. Astarita said simply
“Because I won a scholarship; I’m just passing it on.”
College President Dr. Betsy V. Boze provided
perspective on the
enduring significance
of the Astarita gift.
“I didn’t take my
lunch period or study
period,” she wistfully
recalls. “I was in the
art room. When I
graduated I had the
equivalent of six years
of art courses in all
facets.” Mrs. Astarita
eventually won two
scholarships to study
art. She now feels
compelled to pay it
forward.
AN EXTRAORDINARY GIFT – Seated from left: Donor, Mrs. Helen Astarita and College President Dr. Betsy V.
1. The library was constructed to meet the needs of a growing student population, expanding baccalaureate and master degree
programmes and the increased demand for library services.
2. Harry C. Moore’s widow, Mrs. Monique Moore, said her husband’s insistence on a major library was because of his belief in the
need for education.
Helen Astarita and her husband, Ben, came to The
Bahamas quite by accident more than 50 years ago.
But her extraordinary donation of $400,000 to The
College of The Bahamas’ School of Communication &
Creative Arts to support budding artists in a thriving
art programme is anything but happenstance.
“The College is
thrilled to receive
such a wonderful
gift from Mrs. Helen
Astarita. This is the
kind of generosity that
helps us to empower
and cultivate future
leaders and stimulates
ingenuity. Mrs.
Astarita has been
a trailblazer in the
artistic community
and we hope that
the beneficiaries of
these scholarships
will also be inspired
by her example and
investment in the
leaders of tomorrow,”
Her gift, the largest
Boze. Standing from left: Ms. Audrey Dean-Wright, Head of Visual and Performing Arts; Dr. Earla CareyBaines, Former Dean, Faculty of Liberal and Fine Arts; Ms. Davinia Blair, Director of Development, Alumni
single contribution
Relations and Development and Mr. John Cox, Assistant Professor, Art.
towards the study of
art at The College,
established the Astarita Art Endowment Fund. The
said Dr. Boze.
Endowment will fund two merit based scholarships
– the Astarita Nassauvian Art Scholarship and the
Former Dean, Faculty of Liberal and Fine Arts, Dr.
Astarita Family Islander Art Scholarship – in perpetuity
Earla Carey-Baines also commented on the tremendous
for full time students entering the Associate of Arts
investment in the visual arts.
degree programme in Art.
“Ben and Helen Astarita will always be known for
The scholarships will be awarded every two years,
their vibrant, larger-than-life personalities and their
beginning in Fall 2011, and will cover tuition and
steadfast commitment to the well-being of Bahamians
art supplies expenses, which for students can seem
and The Bahamas,” she said. “The Astarita Endowment
quite costly. The Family Islander scholarship will also
is yet another example of their belief that each of us
include a housing allowance.
has a responsibility to make a positive impact on the
community in which we live and to provide for future
The College’s art programme is especially well known
generations.”
DONORS
Lyford Cay Foundation Establishes Lady Turnquest
Culinary Endowment
To her country, Edith Louise Lady Turnquest, wife
of former Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest,
served with grace and honour. To her family she was a
distinguished matriarch, with social graces that simply
radiated. Her enduring family legacy is deliciously
flavoured with some of the magic she made in a
cherished pursuit, culinary arts.
From left are: Former Chair, School of English Studies, Dr. Marjorie Brooks-Jones; Mr. Deon Simms, English major and bursary recipient; Endowment for the Performing Arts members Mrs. Christiane
Oakes, Mr. Terry North and Mrs. Ruth Cleare; Dr. Gail Saunders, widow of the late Winston Saunders; College President Dr. Betsy V. Boze; Lady Joan Foulkes, Patron of the Endowment for the
Performing Arts; Mr. Emmanuel Mosko, Chairman of the Endowment; Endowment members, Mr. Antonius Roberts, Mrs. Deborah Lotmore and Mrs. Dawn Davies; Mr. Je’Rome Miller, artist and Mrs.
Marina Knowles, mother of Mr. Deon Simms.
The Lyford Cay Foundation paid tribute to the life
and service of Lady Turnquest’s love for the culinary
arts by making a $100,000 donation to The College
of The Bahamas to establish an endowment that
will fund scholarships for Culinary and Hospitality
Management students.
the culinary arts,” he added.
College President Dr. Betsy V. Boze lauded the
Foundation’s commitment to education.
“Each gift communicates a firm belief in education and
the confidence in The College to provide high quality
programmes and leadership,” she said. “Although I
unfortunately did not have an opportunity to meet
Lady Turnquest, by all accounts, she was a wonderful
individual who served her country with grace and
distinction. She was a great cook and a hostess
par excellence, hence it is fitting for a culinary arts
endowment to be named in her honour.”
Performing Arts Endowment Supports
Legacy of Winston Saunders
Winston Saunders was a brilliant actor and
playwright. He commanded the stage with an
unmatched ease and deftness, and gave performances
so compelling that even the characters he played
stayed with audiences long after the curtains closed.
Winston was also an advocate. A leader in the national
arts community, he brought a voice of passion and
strength to the needs and challenges of building and
sustaining a viable performance and cultural arts
sector in The Bahamas.
Established in 2006, The College of The Bahamas’
Winston Saunders Memorial Endowment scholarship
fund is a permanent tribute to his legacy. This past
January, the Endowment for the Performing Arts
boosted that legacy with a $25,000 contribution to the
fund.
Launched back in 1995 as a means of financially
supporting the arts, the performing arts endowment
has over the years, awarded grants totaling over
$60,000 annually to assist individuals and groups in
their creative aspirations.
“The members of the Board of Trustees feel that it is
very fitting that we honour Mr. Saunders, the driving
force behind the establishment of the Endowment so
many years ago,” said Chairman of the Endowment
for the Performing Arts Mr. Emmanuel Mosko.
College President Dr. Betsy V. Boze said this most
recent gift honours Mr. Saunders’ enduring impact on
the arts.
“By making this significant contribution to the
Winston Saunders Memorial Endowment, The
Endowment for the Performing Arts is supporting the
talents and passion of both current and future students
with a vested commitment to the arts, the quest for
infinite discoveries and national development,” she
said.
This past academic year, English Studies major
Deon Simms became the very first recipient of the
scholarship award, which will support one new
student every year, in the four-year English Bachelor
of Arts programme. Simms also happens to be a
playwright. The Winston Saunders Endowment
funds an annual bursary to a student enrolled in the
baccalaureate English Studies programme at The
College who has distinguished him or herself in an
artistic endeavour.
This recent gift brings the fund to over $80,000.
For more information on the Winston Saunders Memorial
Endowment, please contact our Office of Alumni Relations
and Development, at 302-4346 or email [email protected].
We’d be happy to explain how you might also contribute to
this fund.
Sir Orville Turnquest; Ms. G. Diane Stewart and Mrs.
Michelle Fields chat with one of the culinary students
whose pastry creations were on display in the foyer of
the Culinary and Hospitality Management Institute.
From left are: Mr. O.A. Carey Turnquest, grandson of Sir Orville Turnquest; Mrs. Shawn Turnquest, daughter-in-law of Sir Orville
Turnquest; Mrs. Carol Lashley, sister of Sir Orville Turnquest; former Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest; Mr. Stuart Ray, President,
Lyford Cay Foundation Inc.; Dr. Betsy V. Boze, College President,; Hon. Tommy Turnquest, Min. of National Security and son of Sir
Orville Turnquest; Ms. G. Diane Stewart, College Council member, and Mrs. Michelle Fields, daughter of Sir Orville Turnquest.
“The Culinary and Hospitality Management Institute
is the leading institution in the Caribbean working to
develop professionals in the hospitality industry and it
plays an important role in the economic development
of the country,” said Foundation President Mr. Stuart
Ray.
“Unfortunately, it has been an area where there has
been underinvestment in terms of the availability of
financial aid for students. The Edith Louise Lady
Turnquest Scholarship Fund will begin to rectify this
omission and I hope that the establishment of this
fund will mark the beginning of more scholarships in
The announcement of the endowment was a special
honour for former Governor General Sir Orville
Turnquest and his family.
“This is a wonderful thing that has been established
in the name of my late wife and we are going to see
to it that we raise the funding to really make this
endowment grand. My wife loved the kitchen. She
loved to produce and she was a wonderful culinary
artist,” Sir Orville reminisced. “We shall see to it that
the country knows about this endowment and keeps it
alive.”
COLLEGE
HAPPENINGS
Investiture of President Betsy V. Boze
Vowing to support a thriving culture of higher education
where collaboration, transparency and accountability are
embraced, Dr. Betsy V. Boze was installed as the seventh
President of an independent College of The Bahamas
during an historic investiture on Thursday, April 7th.
President Boze told an audience of hundreds in The College’s
Performing Arts Centre that it is the right of every Bahamian
to advance him or herself through higher education and new
knowledge, to learn and to think critically and to become lifelong
learners. The University of The Bahamas is envisioned as a
fundamental conduit to making that happen.
College life bustles at the Northern Bahamas Campus.
Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham officially
opened The College of The Bahamas Northern Bahamas
Campus on Thursday, May 12th hailing its significance
to the development of an education sector that caters to
both Bahamian and international students. Located in
Lucaya Estates in East Grand Bahama, the new campus
was constructed to meet the rising demands of a
growing student population in a thriving environment
Students take advantage of the computer services in the Northern Bahamas Campus library.
of higher learning. It is intended to become the centre
for The College’s industrial and technical programmes
including a signature baccalaureate degree in
Maritime Operations offered in partnership with the
State University of New York Maritime College. An
impressive, modern facility, the new campus has 18
classrooms; science, computer and language labs;
administrative offices, library and bookstore.
New Northern Bahamas Campus Opens
1
2
1. From left: President Boze; College Council member, Mr. Lowell Mortimer; and
COBUS President, Mr. Antonio Butler attending the Investiture Church Service at
Christ Church Cathedral.
2. Immediate past president of The College, Ms. Janyne Hodder wishes President
Boze well on her new appointment.
3. College Council Chair, Mr. T. Baswell Donaldson, invests President Boze with the
medallion and chain, symbols of the rank of President and the authority of the
Office of the President.
3
From left: College President Dr. Betsy V. Boze; Ms. Ginger M Moxey, Vice President, Grand Bahama Port Authority Limited; Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham; Minister of
Education the Hon. Desmond Bannister and College Council Chairman Mr. T. Baswell Donaldson all performed the ribbon cutting to officially open the new campus.
Pawòl Lakay Unlocks Mysteries of Haitian Creole
Myers Sets New National Triple Jump Record
Every year, more than 250 students flood Haitian Creole
classes at The College of The Bahamas to learn one of
the most widely spoken Creole languages in the world.
A comprehensive new textbook titled, Pawòl Lakay:
Haitian-Creole Language and Culture for Beginners
and Intermediate Learners, unlocks the mysteries of
that language while documenting Haiti’s culture and
socio-economic characteristics.
A courageous leap of 12.35 metres on her fourth attempt. That’s what it took first
year Accounting major Tamara Myers to bring home the silver medal in the under
20 women’s division at the 40th Lime CARIFTA Games held in Montego Bay,
Jamaica in April.
Former French and Haitian Creole lecturer at The
College, Frenand Léger, authored the book which
was funded by a grant awarded in 2008, the year
The College began the annual awards scheme for
faculty research. Since then more than 20 research
proposals have received College funding. Pawòl Lakay
emphasises competence in communication, functional
language use and conversational effectiveness.
One of the most widely spoken forms of Creole, Haitian
Creole or Kreyòl is, according to Mr. Léger’s research,
the second most commonly spoken language in the
Dominican Republic, Cuba and The Bahamas.
Magomola Shares Painful Robben Island Past
time and a place of unbridled racial injustice when most
of the world had already begun its healing.
For five years, Mr. Magomola – then 19 years old – was
a political prisoner at Robben Island. His imprisonment
overlapped part of Mr. Mandela’s incarceration. A few
years following his release from prison, he accepted
a Fulbright-Hayes scholarship which allowed him to
earn a Master of Business Administration degree at Ball
State University in Indiana, U.S.A., and later worked
his way up to become a largely successful investment
banker on Wall Street. Despite his success in the U.S., he
returned to his beloved South Africa where he is today
recognised as an important national advocate for black
economic empowerment.
Mr. Owen Bethel and Ms. Janet Charlton chat with Senator Allyson Maynard-Gibson and Mr.
Gaby Magomola following the lecture and book signing.
For more than 40 years, investment banker and
acclaimed author Gaby Magomola has lived in the
present with a decidedly purposeful outlook for the
future, while carrying the pain of a tortured past. On a
visit to The Bahamas this past February, Mr. Magomola
gave a public lecture at The College’s Chapter One
bookstore. He shared many painful memories, as he
recalled the horrors of his incarceration at the dreaded
Robben Island, in Cape Town, South Africa, during the
1960s.
Robben Island had garnered the attention and the
disdain of the wider international community. Most
known for the imprisonment of renowned political
prisoner, Nelson Mandela, the facility persisted in a
An accounting major and student athlete, Tamara continued to achieve
new standards of excellence in her sporting discipline this summer after
the CARIFTA Games. In June, she set a new national record in the women’s
under 20 triple jump at the BAAA track and field meet in Grand Bahama.
Tamara’s remarkable leap of 12.90 metres surpassed a two-year record of
12.73 metres established by Keythra Richards. And in July, at the Jr. Pan Am
Games in Miramar, Florida, Tamara’s extraordinary leap of 12.85 metres
earned her the silver medal. One of the most outstanding triple jump athletes
in the country, Tamara is now focused on the Olympic Games.
“I feel really good about winning the silver medals…Competing against other
countries brings out the best in you and with the triple jump I have to work hard to
stay competitive,” said Tamara, who was raised in Conch Sound, Andros.
Her stellar accomplishments capped a grueling year of intense track and field
training and college studies. Most mornings, the ambitious student athlete is
up before dawn. By 7a.m., she is dutifully on her way to demanding morning
training with other College team mates and by 10a.m. she is off to classes.
Camille Lady Barnett Receives Golden Heart Award
Associate Professor of Sociology, Camille Lady Barnett was this year’s
distinguished recipient of the Lady Sassoon Golden Heart Award given
at the 2011 Heart Ball in February.
The scope of his hellish experiences is documented in
his autobiography, “Robben Island to Wall Street”.
Each year, The Sir Victor Sassoon (Bahamas) Heart Foundation honours
individuals with the distinction of the Golden Heart Award for their
selfless contributions to promoting human welfare and dignity.
Hallmarks of Lady’s Barnett’s relentless service and community
advocacy are characterised by her tenacious yet compassionate spirit.
President of the Bahamas AIDS Foundation since 2002, she has worked
to raise awareness and much needed funding for the national HIV/
AIDS campaign. Also a long time member of the Zonta Club of Nassau,
Lady Barnett helped to establish the PACE Foundation which supports
a programme for adolescent and teen mothers.
“It is very easy to forget where we came from,” he said.
“If we do not bring the young people to books and
make them understand that today’s freedoms were
acquired over the backs of many other people, if we
cannot in our daily schedules find mentoring moments
with the young people, the stories of Robben Island will
repeat themselves.”
The College partnered with Maxwell Gibson and his
wife Senator the Hon. Allyson-Maynard Gibson to
facilitate the lecture and the special book signing that
followed. The event attracted a packed audience. It was
an evening dedicated to showing how Mr. Magomola’s
journey, and his relentlessly indomitable spirit, is a
beacon of hope for people all over the world.
Camille, Lady Barnett, receives the Golden Heart Award from Mr.
R.E. Barnes, Chairman of the Sir Victor Sassoon Bahamas Heart
Foundation.
The Heart Ball is the major fundraiser for The Sir Victor Sassoon
(Bahamas) Heart Foundation, which has for the past 50 years provided
financial and other support for more than 4,000 children with heart
ailments. The Lady Sassoon Golden Heart Award is named in honour
of the late Lady Evelyn Sassoon, who established The Foundation in
memory of her late husband, Sir Victor Sassoon.
Careers Fair
New Academic Programmes
Held under the theme “Jobs for the Present, Careers
for the Future,” the Counselling and Health Services
Department’s Career Fair took place at The College’s
Oakes Field Campus on March 10th, attracting
hundreds of college students keen on exploring
potential job opportunities. A range of both traditional
and non-traditional professions were represented from
policing and banking to environmental science.
Student Films Debut at Short Film Festival
Move over Kareem Mortimer, Maria Govan and John
Singleton. Student film makers at The College of The
Bahamas are poised to break into the local film industry
in a big way, propelled by the momentum of The
College’s first Short Film Festival and the roles they
played in it.
Three teams of students coming from a range of
academic disciplines produced short films that brought
the issues of abandonment, abuse, vagrancy and even
suicide to the big screen. Jasmines, Jon…John McPhee
and Surprise debuted in the auditorium of The Harry
C. Moore Library and Information Centre on April
8th to the cheers of hundreds of approving audience
members.
The films were actual projects that School of
Communication lecturer Mr. Hugo Zarate had assigned
to his video production class. Students assumed the
full range of filmmaking duties from script writing,
directing and producing to acting and editing, with the
single requirement that projects address social issues.
“My expectation is just one. Students should be able
to see that this is not just books and classes. They have
to do something with all the information and all the
learning that they receive,” he said. “Now they know,
they can create things, develop the country, touch the
community and stop complaining about the problems.”
In the end, the provocative storyline of Jasmines, a
psychological drama that follows the life of a young
college student as she struggles to deal with strained
family relationships was the winning film. It was
directed by Journalism and Mass Communication
majors and aspiring professional film makers Jasper
Haeward and Jonathan Thompson.
“We didn’t make the film solely for the film festival, but
when I consider how many people are contemplating
suicide, I just wanted to tell their story,” shared Jasper.
Jonathan explained, “I added a lot of elements from
what I knew about people who had hurt themselves
and felt as though they do not want to live anymore, so
this made it easier for me to write.”
The three judges, Broadcasting Corporation of The
Bahamas Senior Deputy General Manager, Mrs.
Kayleaser Deveaux-Isaacs; Cable Bahamas Public
Affairs Director and Executive Producer, Dr. Keith
Wisdom, and photojournalist, producer and director
Mr. Donald Knowles were impressed with the quality
of all the films, but in the end the storytelling was the
deciding factor.
The College continues to expand its academic
programmes in crucial national development areas
designed to give The Bahamas a distinct advantage. The
Masters of Science in Reading with a concentration in
Inclusive Education and the Bachelor of Arts in Media
Journalism will begin Fall 2011, while the Masters of
Social Work, a Barry University degree facilitated by
The College, will be offered beginning Spring 2012.
Purposefully developed following consultation with the
Ministry of Education, the MSc in Reading will prepare
educators to competently bolster literacy levels in the
country and expertly prepare them to teach special
needs students. The BA in Media Journalism replaces
the former AA in Journalism and Mass Communication
degree and offers an expanded range of competencies
for careers in communications, public relations,
marketing and journalism. Meantime, the impending
Masters of Social Work, which integrates both theory
and practice, was developed in response to the need
for professionally trained social workers. Students will
be required to complete two distinct field education
internships in Miami, Florida.
The College Hosts Open House
Dozens of primary and high school students participated
in The College’s Open House activities on Friday,
April 8th held collaboratively with RBC Royal Bank
of Canada and designed to convey the message that
“A College Education is Within Your Reach.” Invited
as future members of the University of The Bahamas
Commencement Class of 2021, primary students were
fully immersed in college life and even completed
college applications as part of the process while their
older counterparts were introduced to various academic
units and informed about student development,
leadership and academic opportunities. Additional
activities included guided campus tours, a school band
competition and exhibition soccer and basketball games.
In a splendid display of musical skill, CV Bethel High
School won the school band competition, seizing the
$1,000 prize for its music department.
Primary school students enthusiastically respond in a classroom session during
The College’s Open House.
“Filmmaking is about story telling; the other thing is
that while you are telling a story, you have to pull us in.
We have to buy your story. All of them pulled us in, but
when we got to Jasmines, I didn’t smell any flowers but
I was almost immediately sucked in,” said Dr. Wisdom.
The films have since debuted on ZNS channel 11 and
Cable channel 12 television stations and an on-campus
encore performance is expected during the coming Fall
semester. In the meantime, the Short Film Festival is
expected to be an annual event.
High school students were taken on a tour of The College’s Oakes Field Campus and
introduced to campus life activities.
The School of Nursing and Allied Health Professions was one of the schools that set
up interactive displays to explain their academic programmes.
ALUMNI
CIRCLE
JOHN MOGK
34th Commencement Service
New Alumni Relations & Annual Fund Associate
1
3
2
The 2011 Commencement Class of The College of The Bahamas
comprised 442 graduates, 65 percent of whom earned baccalaureate
degrees, the largest group in the institution’s history. It represented
one of the most significant indicators of The College’s continued
development and its transition toward becoming a university.
The College held its 2011 Commencement Service on Thursday,
May 26th under the theme: “Overcoming Challenges, Embracing
Opportunities.” Commencement Guest Speaker, Mariette Storr, AA
’85, Regional Coordinator of Policy, Government and Public Affairs
for the Chevron Corporation, gave an inspirational address and
implored graduates to be flexible, marketable and multilingual in
order to keep pace with a dynamic global village.
4
1. Graduates of the School of Education cheer for a fellow graduate who receives his degree.
3. Commencement guest speaker, Mariette Storr, AA ’85, delivers the Commencement address.
4. This graduate is all smiles as she receives her bachelor degree from President Boze.
Experienced in cultivating philanthropic relationships,
alumni relations and student affairs in higher
education, John Mogk was appointed Alumni
Relations and Annual Fund Associate effective
May, 2011. He joined The College after serving as
Phonathon Manager at Lake Forest College in Illinois
and was previously Director of Student Activities at
Averett College in Virginia and Director of Student
Activities and Director of Annual Giving at Carthage
College in Wisconsin.
John’s appointment consolidates College efforts to
foster lifelong relationships with alumni, advance
philanthropy and build public support.
2. After standing for the conferral of degrees, these former students become the newest alumni of The College
of The Bahamas.
5. School of Nursing graduates were pinned in a special ceremony held at the Performing Arts Centre on May
25th 2011.
For The College of The
Bahamas, building an alumni
culture of engagement
and giving, in ways that
help to develop and grow
the institution is a major
priority; one that will be
achieved by establishing
strong connections with our
graduates, and learning how
their resources, expertise
and enthusiasm might be
of lifelong value to our
College. With more than
12,000 alumni including
some across the globe,
there is untapped potential
in the range of attributes
and strengths of our many
graduates. Our alumni
community represents a
diversity in opportunity
to help us better serve
The College’s mission
and development goals,
while cultivating a robust
environment of student
learning.
5
“I believe the alumni
experience starts from the
admissions process and
continues. As students
graduate, their needs and
interests are different and
what we offer them needs
to change accordingly,” he
says. “For The College to
continue moving forward,
we need our alumni to share
their talents, share their
experience with students
to better prepare them for
life after college, and share
their support to ensure
important programmes have
the resources they need to
prosper.”
Since joining The College,
relationship building – and
first step in fundraising –
has been one of John’s top
priorities to strengthen
College connections with
alumni, friends and the
growing number of supporters. Established in
2007, the Annual Fund is the principal vehicle for
fundraising among alumni, faculty, staff and parents
to help The College meet its most pressing needs
and realise promising opportunities. “Through
fundraising I can educate people about the greatness
and challenges of an organization and show the
importance and impact of giving back to something
people care.”
Additional priorities include further expanding the
alumni database, building strong relationships and
continuing to reconnect with many more alumni.
“I want to hear ideas from alumni and work with
volunteers eager to make a difference. This is how we
will achieve our goal of engaging all members of the
College community and steadily improve our annual
support.”
If you are an alumnus of The College of The Bahamas and would like to reconnect with your alma mater and fellow graduates,
please register at http://my.cob.edu.bs, add us as your friend on Facebook: AlumRelationsCob, or email us: [email protected].
Where
ALUMNI FOOTPRINTS
Are They Now?
Similarly, for his wife Courtnee Benjamin-Romer,
AA ’97, being the best is a goal that leaves no room
for compromise, especially when it comes to being a
wife, mother and partner.
Kenneth, who as
a young college
student dreamed
of a career in
aviation, is
now the Chief
Operating Officer
of a growing
private airline,
Sky Bahamas; a
profession and
industry quite
different from
his first, which
began in the
public education
system. The
Romer household
though still has a
resident teacher in
Courtnee, who after
a career in journalism and freelance writing, now
educating pre- and primary school students.
Kenneth first enrolled at The College of The Bahamas
in 1990 with plans to study physics and mathematics.
“My career track was really taking me towards being
a pilot at that time. But I really felt a call of the divine
to do something more than flying. I got this strange
feeling about teaching, which I heavily objected to.
I was not interested at all but I was so convicted at
that time,” explained the pastor and founder of Open
Door Ministries in Grand Bahama.
He began his teaching career at the S. C. Bootle High
School in Cooper’s Town, Abaco in 1994, where he
was also senior master.
Four years later, the Ministry of Education honoured
him as the very first national Teacher of the Year.
In 2000, eleven months after he met Courtnee, the
couple married.
Courtnee joined Kenneth in Grand Bahama where
he had been seconded by the Ministry of Education
to act as principal of Freeport Gospel Chapel School.
He would later also serve as principal of St. George’s
High School.
Courtnee’s
relocation to
Grand Bahama led
her into several
new aspects of
journalism and
communications
at Barefoot
Marketing, Cool
96 Radio and
Love 97/Bahama
Journal Northern
Bahamas.
In 2008 the
family moved
to Abaco, where
Courtnee’s parents
live. That year,
Captain Randy
Butler, Sky Bahamas CEO, and Kenneth’s first
cousin, approached the school administrator about
a management position at the airline. Kenneth now
commutes between New Providence and Marsh
Harbour where Courtnee lives with their children:
daughter Kennedy, 8, and son, Harper, 4. Courtnee
teaches music at Agape Christian School and has
written plays and musicals that have been performed
by students throughout the school.
Through her teachings in the classroom and from the
stage and his commitments in his work, the church,
their community and at home, the Romers are
impacting lives every day.
Director of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas [NAGB], Dr.
Erica James, recently accepted a position as Assistant Professor in
The History of Art and African American Studies at Yale University
effective Fall 2011. In January, she resumed her directorship of the
NAGB after completing a Post Doctoral Teaching Fellowship in
the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Washington
University. Through her work at the gallery, Erica, has worked with
seasoned Bahamian artists while also mentoring emerging ones.
Halson Moultrie AA ’89
Attorney-at-law, counsellor and sportsman, Halson Moultrie’s
main goal has always been how best he might contribute to the
development of The Bahamas. Although today a practising attorney,
Halson spent more than 20 years as a meteorologist and is specially
trained in climatology. The longtime leader of the Bahamas Freedom
Alliance political party and an ordained minister at Bahamas Faith
Ministries, he remains purposefully committed to his convictions.
Erica James
Singled out early in his career as rather exceptional
Kenneth Romer, AA ’93, has always been inspired by
superlatives. In a profession dominated by women,
he was honoured for being the best. As a mentor, he
has imparted that same drive for excellence and as a
husband and father, he gives the very best of himself.
Erica James AA ’89
Rosemary Hanna AA ‘92
While other little girls displayed more typical interests in dolls,
dress-up and the like, as a young girl, Rosemary Hanna had already
developed a keen interest in what would become a lifelong passion
for choral singing and classical music. Over the years, Rosemary’s
odyssey of music included the Lucayan Chorale, Allegro Singers
and the Anglican Chorale, where she is currently the director. Now
retired, after a 38-year career in financial services, Rosemary’s days of
singing and music grow richer.
Halson Moultrie
By THEA RUTHERFORD
Wayne Neely AA ‘92
Meteorologist Wayne Neely has travelled around the world to share
his published research about killer hurricanes, but among his most
cherished memories are the three years he spent at The College of
The Bahamas while earning an Associates Degree in Geography.
Although that was 19 years ago, he still values the quality education
and mentorship he received and the friendships he forged. Wayne,
who authored five books on the most devastating hurricanes to
affect The Bahamas, is regarded as one of the foremost Bahamian
authorities on these severe weather phenomena.
Maxine Brown Diploma ‘94
A Registered Nurse and honours graduate of The College of The
Bahamas’ Community Health Nursing Diploma Programme, Maxine
Brown, was determined to build expertise in an area with particular
significance to our archipelagic landscape. She is now a community
nurse assigned to Spanish Wells, Eleuthera who is deeply proud of
her profession. Maxine admits that although challenging, being a
community health nurse is very rewarding.
Rosemary Hanna
Kenneth & Courtnee Romer
the most calamitous circumstances. His are the first
steps necessary to rebuild battered infrastructure,
communities and lives.
Shaun was always driven by an intense desire to
give back, and when he volunteered to assist with
recovery efforts in Eleuthera following Hurricane
Andrew in 1992, his life changed forever. In the years
that followed, he would realize a calling in disaster
management. This calling has taken him to places
like the South African border and the Appalachian
Mountains to do relief work, to Indonesia in the
aftermath of the deadly Indian Ocean earthquake and
tsunami in 2004 and to Texas following hurricanes
Katrina and Rita in 2005.
He was among the many that rushed to the aid of
our Caribbean neighbour, in January, 2010 after a
powerful earthquake flattened the Haitian capital
of Port-au-Prince, killing an estimated 250,000 to
300,000 people. Working with Habitat for Humanity
and the Rotary Clubs of the region, he provided
logistical support that facilitated the delivery of relief
supplies.
“It was very challenging because as you know,
nothing happens quickly in Haiti. It’s a ‘hurry up
and wait’ situation. Right after an emergency things
start to grind to a halt,” says Shaun, former President
of the Rotary Club of Eleuthera. “I try to keep things
going and keep the process open.”
Back home, he continues to be at the centre of
community planning and recently coordinated
an international partnership for the sustainable
development of Eleuthera which brought together
public and private sector entities, institutions of
higher education and environmental organizations.
List some of the worst natural disasters in recent
times and chances are that Shaun Ingraham, AA ’90,
was there, on the ground, in the aftermath; in the
midst of shell shocked citizens and at the height of
human misery.
Shaun has spent most of his adult life preparing for
the worst or pulling pieces together after immense
devastation. He has brought leadership in some of
Shaun is also Founder and Director of Island
Journeys, South Eleuthera Emergency Partners and
Eleuthera Land Conservancy.
“For me nation building is the ultimate,” he says. “I
don’t think I have a choice. I think this country has
been great to us and that’s something we need to
protect and cherish.”
Are They Now?
Ward Minnis AA ‘04
Artist and playwright, Ward Minnis seems to have an especially
juicy scoop on Bahamian politics, as shared recently in a devilishly
hilarious play called “The Cabinet” which debuted this Spring.
He had worked on the play for four years, and after completing a
Master’s Degree in History at Carleton University, returned home
to produce and act in the project. He is a visual artist, essayist, and
historian, and is now immersed mostly in research on the 20th
Century Caribbean.
Ramona Davis-Wells BEd ‘07
Subject Coordinator for the Business Department at the C. H. Reeves
Secondary School, Ramona Davis-Wells is a proponent of discovery
in its purest sense as the foundation for education. The youngest
teacher ever to receive the Sir Gerald Cash National Distinguished
Teacher Award, Ramona also values the fulfilment that excellence
brings. She recently represented The Bahamas at three conferences
including the Microcomputers in Education Conference 2011 at
Arizona State University.
Sandy Campbell BBA ‘08
As a child on her grandfather’s fishing boat, Sandy Campbell learned
from the best about how to be the captain of one’s own destiny. As
a 27-year-old pursuing a Master of Science degree in International
Transportation Management from the State University of New York,
Sandy has vowed to be a trailblazer in the maritime sector. The
maritime student has virtually circumnavigated the world as part of
her college training and aspires to command a Liquified Natural Gas
(LNG) ship or Bulk Carrier one day.
Daniel V. A. Thompson AA ‘10
Ambitious and focused, Daniel V. A. Thompson knows what he
wants and spares no effort in achieving it. He applied this rule as a
Law and Criminal Justice student at The College – where his father,
School of Business Chair, teaches Marketing and Management – and
graduated with Honours in Fall 2010. At 19, he’s now a University of
Buckingham in London law student and recently presented impressive
legal arguments at the Essex Court Chambers National Mooting
Competition against rival University of Warwick.
Embri Stuart AA ’10
At 20, Embri Stuart has thrived largely on the sheer will to succeed.
The former Law and Criminal Justice graduate of The College of The
Bahamas was recently chosen as the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar
District 7020 which meant receiving a $26,000 Scholarship to continue
law studies at Keele University in Staffordshire, England. She was
also the recipient of a Ministry of Education national grant and a
Bahamas Supermarkets Foundation scholarship.
Ward Minnis
By ROGAN M. SMITH, AA ‘00
Ramona Davis-Wells
Shaun Ingraham Keeps A Date With Disaster
Where
Sandy Campbell
ALUMNI FOOTPRINTS
ALUMNI FOOTPRINTS
Keshlah Smith – A Sizzling Pot of Success
Advertise In Our Next Issue
With a distribution of 7,500, The College of The Bahamas Alumni Magazine reaches our
alumni, students, the business community and other friends of The College.
By MAELYNN SEYMOUR-MAJOR
It’s often easy to reduce cooking to just another
chore, tasked to the rolling up of one’s sleeves
and slaving over a hot stove to fulfil the basic
need to eat. But for Chef Keshlah Smith, AA ’98,
every opportunity is a chance to create another
‘savouringly’ innovative cuisine. For her, it is a
lifelong love.
To place an ad in our Spring / Summer 2012 issue, contact the Office of Communication at: (242) 302-4353.
A second generation culinary entrepreneur, Keshlah
has become one of the most sought after restaurant
consultants and chefs in the country. Two of the
many stand out dishes with the Keshlah signature of
taste are her Indian Spiced Pan-seared Salmon with
Arugula and Mint Salad and Poached Paupiette of
Snapper with Native Crab Stuffing and Ceviche of
Snapper.
Size
Quarter Page
Having chartered the waters of entrepreneurship
with her own brand of success, Keshlah shares three
key pieces of advice for aspiring business owners,
$
450 per ad
Full Page
2,000
1,500 per ad
Inside Back Cover
2,750
2,250 per ad
Experience the power
of Visa with your
ScotiaCard Visa Debit!
Keshlah lives on the cutting edge of her profession.
As a restaurant consultant, she brings her business
acumen to the kitchen and helps other entrepreneurs
learn how to transition their culinary skills into the
food business.
In 2009, Keshlah helped to get Go Green Café, the
Studio Deli, and Caribbean Spice up and running.
500
700 per ad
Inspired by her mother, Keshlah seemed to just
have a knack for the food business: how it operates
and what it requires to realise success. So it seemed
a natural next step when she launched her own
business, Essence Catering, on November 15, 2001.
She also produces her own signature line of breads,
soups and sauces for a variety of restaurants around
town.
“As a restaurant consultant I construct restaurants,
build menus, create recipes, train staff and help
people learn how to run a business. This is helpful
for people who want to open a restaurant and don’t
know how to do it,” she explained.
$
Rates for 4 Issues
800
Half Page
“I get excited about food!” raved the culinary diva
who although raised as a vegetarian, simply could
not resist the myriad flavours and delights of the full
pyramid of foods.
Rates for 1 Issue
• Use Anywhere Visa is Accepted
• Shop In Line or Online - At Home or Abroad
• ATM, Internet, Telephone and Mobile Banking
• Simple, Safe & Convenient
especially those in creative fields: stay informed,
create networks of human resources and produce a
consistent product.
“Once people get to know you,” she said, “they get
to know your work and they stick with you through
life; their children use you. You just have to find
your niche and keep giving them a good product.”
bahamas.scotiabank.com
* Trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence.
Harry C. Moore
Library & Information Centre
The College of The Bahamas Oakes Field Campus
Membership is free to all primary and high school students, with special rates to COB Alumni.
For more information telephone us at (242) 302-4552, or email: [email protected].
Membership is also available for the general public.

COB Alumni Magazine, Fall/Winter 2011

Transcription

Similar documents

Contribution Form

Splash Lagoon Family Fun Weekend!

Report on Private Giving 2008-2009

Homecoming Week Flyer - College of Education

Join us for the2016 Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series

Spring 2005 Alumni Newsletter

program overview - Art of Problem Solving Foundation

orthmont Today - Northmont City Schools

Alpha Kappa Psi Important Dates for the 2013 Spring Semester

cruising - Royal Caribbean Incentives