The International College of the Cayman Islands graduates for 2007 at the Church of
God Holiness in Red Bay on Sunday, 2 December.

The International College of the Cayman Islands (ICCI) delivered 39 more qualified graduates to the work place on Sunday, 2 December at the 35th graduation ceremony held at the Church of God Holiness in Red Bay, Grand Cayman.

Of the graduating class, 13 were awarded Associate of Science degrees, 14 Bachelor of Science, six Master of Business Administration and six Master of Science degrees.

Undergraduate George Ebanks gave the speech on behalf of the student body. He used the opportunity to comment on access to tertiary education in the Cayman Islands, particularly the relationship between the ICCI and the other tertiary provider, University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI).

“I believe that the two tertiary education centres, ICCI and UCCI, should be seen as complementary and not competitive,” he said.

“By this I mean that we should explore the idea of shared facilities, shared faculty and shared college life experiences by way of an effective student exchange programme.”

He also put forward his view on how the institutions could work more closely in the future to achieve “cross pollination between the two tertiary education centres with full acceptance of one another’s course credits where students can complete their chosen degrees in as quick a time as possible”.

Mr Ebanks felt that in addition to benefiting students, this practice would “result in the delivery of a greater number of more qualified human resource capital into the local workforce”.

The graduation address, usually given by the President of the College, was on this occasion delivered by graduating student, Jacqueline Morris. In what many described as an outstanding delivery, Ms Morris challenged the graduating class to continue its journey of advancement and self-discovery.

She reminded the class that irrespective of how much formal study one undertakes, a person is not truly advanced until they know themselves. The way to achieve this, Ms Morris suggested, was by conducting self audits to assess one’s strengths and weaknesses. “Only through self knowledge can an individual truly advance,” she said.

In addition to family members and well-wishers making up a packed audience at the graduation, Lucille Seymour, Member of the Legislative Assembly and ICCI alumni, was also in attendance. She took part in the presentation of diplomas.

ICCI is an independent college, founded in 1970, offering a variety of courses recognised by the Cayman Islands Education Council and the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS).

CIMA Walk Raised $1800 for ICCI Library
ICCI Marketing Dept., December 12, 2007

A very determined group of employees from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority got out of bed early to walk (and in some cases run) to raise funds for the project to rebuild the stacks at the college library. The library building was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan and the college lost a collection that had taken 30 years to build. some 15,000 volumes were lost and while current students are utilizing the online library, LIRN, the college staff and
students are determined to fill the interim library with books to assist students and the community at large. "For many years, the college library provided a link between the college and the community. We want to bring that back." says April Cummings, Director of Marketing.

Volunteer crews are continuing the slow process of salvaging any remaining volumes from the old library building. Anyone interested in assisting with labor or donations, contact aacummings@myicci.com.