Eight of Cayman’s Top Junior Achievers recently attended the week-long Next Generation Leadership (NGL) Forum in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada at Trent University. The forum is in its 44th year and has been attended by JA Cayman Islands Students for 22 years. The forum focuses on Innovation, Insight and Inspiration through a series of workshops by Trent University Professors, guest speakers and a series team building exercises.
This year Bobby Umar, a four-time TED speaker, author and Huffington Post contributor gave the delegates tips and skills related to Personal Branding, Networking and Social Media. Mr Umar has been named the second best business coach to follow on Twitter and the 4th largest leadership influencer on social media. Mr Umar is also a professional comedian and an Executive Education instructor.
President of Junior Achievement of the Cayman Islands, Paul Byles, said he is proud of the achievements of his students.
“Once again our Cayman Islands JA students demonstrated that they are excellent youth ambassadors for Cayman. It is always rewarding to our sponsors and volunteers to see how they have grown from not only the JA program throughout the year, but also from the international exposure and experience of attendance at the NGL forum in Canada” he said.
To vie for a position at the NGL Forum, Achievers had to undergo a series of interviews and then present an oral presentation relating to a Cayman Islands economic topic to a panel of distinguished judges from Cayman’s business community. The quest began with 32 students nominated by their peers and advisors, and narrowed down to 8 successful candidates who won the highly coveted spot on the trip.
The eight Achievers include: Katlin Lee Pack, Nathanya Tibbetts, Bianca Tibbetts, Marika Scotland, Scott Burley, Finley McDougall, Hasani Stewart and Jordan Grant.
The goal of the annual NGL is to help students build their leadership, creativity, team work and business skills. Bianca Tibbetts, says she was honoured to be chosen to attend the Forum and opportunity to foster personal growth.
“The NGL Forum gives you the tool to become a forward thinker; you meet so many different people from different cultures and it helps you develop a mind set about your future. You come back with so many quotes and memories that will surely stay with you for life! ” said Bianca Tibbetts, NGL Forum delegate.
Teresa Foster, JA Programme Director and Chaperone for the trip said “It is so wonderful to see this group of students learn and evolve over the week. They come out of this experience significantly changed in their views of the world and how they will focus on their futures. It truly is a very rewarding experience for both the attendees and Chaperones.”
The JA Company Programme is the incubator for the NGL trip and any interested students can register on line for the new school year’s programme by visiting www.jacayman.ky. Registration closes September 26, 2014.
For more information on Junior Achievement and to find out how to volunteer, visit www.jacayman.ky or call 949-4306.
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Cayman Compass– September 11, 2014
