Coleridge and Parry takes home plaque

Shanika Cadogan of the Coleridge and Parry Secondary School was named the Most Outstanding Student of the 2018-2019 Preparing Today for Tomorrow’s Challenges Programme.

Cadogan was named during the recognition and graduation ceremony, which took place recently at the Hospitality Institute. This coveted award has almost always been won by a student of the Ellerslie Secondary School, so it was with much fanfare and pride that Cadogan collected the award.

Sandra Carrington-Griffith, Campus Officer of Alumni Relations and Co-ordinator of the PTFTC, revealed that this year, they enrolled 186 students and it was with much joy that they were able to see 147 successfully complete and graduate from the programme. She was especially proud to note that of these 147 students, which hailed from the Coleridge and Parry Secondary School, St. Michael School, Lester Vaughn Secondary, Ellerslie Secondary, Frederick Smith Secondary, Grantley Adams and St. George Secondary, 47 of them were males.

She noted that seven of these students would also get the opportunity to intern at the University of the West Indies, Open Campus during the upcoming summer break.

Patricia Welch, Guidance Counsellor of the St. George Secondary School, gave an overview of the programme, highlighting that it has grown tremendously over the past four years, as it started with one school, and has now grown to include seven schools.

She revealed that the students got the opportunity to learn about basic dining etiquette, learn about the correct placement of corsages and boutonnieres, focus on professional aspects of business and dining etiquette and learn about the correct way to write a resume and interview for a job.

“For the students of St. George Secondary School, this programme has opened career opportunities; presently, there are two former students who are working at an established organisation because of this programme,” she said.

“When I was approached by one of the partners who assisted at our school to recommend a student, I recommended a male graduate, and the Managing Director soon contacted me to recommend another male and female, and I also recommended two other students. This employer expressed that this was the way staff would be recruited in the future, from those who completed the Preparing Today for Tomorrow’s Challenges programme.”

It is against this background that Welch noted that she would continue to be an advocate for the programme. (CLF)