Thirty-nine Bahamians will be conferred Master’s of Science Degrees in three different disciplines; Curriculum and Instruction, Exceptional Student Education and Organizational Learning and Leadership from Barry University.
The commencement ceremony will be held at Barry University’s main campus in Miami Florida on Friday, 12th December, 2014. However, to allow family and friends to celebrate with the graduates, Barry University hosted a graduation celebration at St. Joseph’s Hall on 7th December, 2014. The hall was packed to capacity with parents, spouses, children, family and friends of the graduates who were all in attendance to show their support.
On hand for the celebration from Barry University were: Dr. Jill Farrell, Associate Dean – International Programs, Adrian Dominican School of Education; Dr. David Kopp, Associate Dean and Advisor of Organizational Learning and Leadership; Dr. Judy Harris-Looby, Department Chair and Advisor, Exceptional Student Education; Dr. Ruth Ban, Advisor, Curriculum and Instruction and Dr. Luis Conde, Assistant Professor, Exceptional Student Education.
Bringing remarks on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology was the Honourable Jerome Fitzgerald. As Minister of Education, he spoke of the noble reputation of the institution and touted the quality of instruction and programs as being “par excellence”. He noted that the school will celebrate its 75th anniversary next year and that “this school has a long standing reputation that is known the world over.”
Minister Fitzgerald spoke of the high regard of education by both the university and Bahamians. “The fact that Barry University has a strong presence here in our small country speaks volumes to the value that our citizens place on education; as well as the high regard Barry has for our citizens.” He also commended Barry University for providing working Bahamians the opportunity to pursue graduate studies while remaining at home. “Barry University has offered various degree programs to Bahamians desiring to further their education while remaining at home. The opportunity afforded through this weekend program allows many working Bahamians with families to follow their dreams and develop themselves professionally and academically. This arrangement has clearly been of great benefit to all stakeholders.”
The Minister recognized the faculty and staff for their commitment to the program through their willingness to fly back and forth between the United States of America and The Bahamas to facilitate the Barry Bahamas Graduate Program. “Your willingness to commute between Florida and Nassau as well as Florida and Grand Bahama speaks to your love for learning and your desire to impart knowledge and see others achieve academic success. I can only begin to imagine the rigor of your travels and instruction to ensure that the students received the best possible lectures.”
As he addressed the graduates, he spoke of the sacrifices and focus required to successfully complete such a rigorous course of study. “To you the graduates, I laud you for your discipline, determination and tenacity. Many, if not all of you work full time jobs, have families, are civically engaged and yet you still found the time to commit to furthering your education.”
He told the graduates that as educators they had a responsibility to continue to enhance and hone their skills. “As educators, it is your duty to be life-long learners so that you always have a wealth of knowledge and wisdom to share with those around you. We all know that teaching is not just limited to the classroom but that any environment can become a place of learning.”
The Minister then addressed each cohort individually and reminded them of the skills they would have acquired during their masters degree program. He challenged them to put the knowledge learned to good use and to ensure that it was given practical and meaningful application in and out of the classroom.
“Those of you being conferred the Master of Science in Exceptional Student Education; it is indeed heartwarming to know that fourteen of you possessed the desire to enhance your education to cater to those with special needs. I am told that your program would have provided you with a rich understanding of the unique characteristics of a variety of exceptionalities. You would have gained skills that will enable you to successfully plan and collaborate with other professionals on appropriate programs for students with special needs. Yours is indeed a special calling and we encourage you to be your best to those students whom you will have the privilege of working with and applying all that you have learned.”
“To the cohort receiving their Master of Science Degree in Curriculum and Instruction, the value you will add to your respective classrooms, your school and by extension the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is limitless. Your program featured a specialization in Early and Middle Childhood Education which will enrich your curricular expertise, content knowledge, and principles of teaching, providing you with a deeper understanding of children and how they learn. I am certain that the content of this degree program will equip you to improve the quality of instruction that you will offer to your students thus increasing their chances of academic success.”
“Finally, to those of you who will receive your Master of Science in Organizational Learning and Leadership, you have added to your knowledge bank, the skills and characteristics necessary to become change-agents and leaders both inside and outside the school setting. You are now well versed in understanding organizational structures, adult learning and motivation, leadership skills, training principles, systems thinking, assessments and problem solving; all in the context of positively impacting the workplace. You have the opportunity to influence thinking and attitudes among those that lead within an organization and that, graduates, is an awesome responsibility.”
Minster Fitzgerald expressed the appreciation of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for their desire to add value to their lives as well as the lives of others. “We at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology tip our hats to you all for your commitment to education. What you have accomplished will not only benefit you but the scores of students and adults that you will have the opportunity to share your wealth of knowledge with.”
He pointed out that the education profession was a career and not just a job and reminded them of the importance of their work. “You are well on your way to becoming career educators and I want to remind you that as educators, you have the most important job that exists among humankind. We are proud of you and we salute you for your hard work and this stellar accomplishment.”
The Minister ended by admonishing them to be beacons of light within their schools. “Let your lights continue to shine as you illuminate the hearts and minds of our students.”
Also in attendance at the graduation celebration was Senator, the Honourable Allyson Maynard Gibson, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs who gave the opening remarks.
Senator Maynard Gibson was recognized by Dr. Farrell as having the distinct privilege of being the youngest student to ever graduate from the university. Dr. Farrell also mentioned that in February 2015, Senator, the Hon. Allyson Maynard Gibson will be one of five persons honoured by Barry University and bestowed the Distinguished Alumni Award. Of the more than sixty thousand (60,000) Barry Alumni, only sixty (60) have been decorated with this honor and Senator, the Hon. Allyson Maynard Gibson will be among the select few.
In her remarks, the Senator opened by acknowledging the quality education afforded by the institution, “Barry University’s stellar reputation in academic circles, in the United States and internationally, is re-enforced by the quality of your graduates and their career accomplishments. She went on to congratulate the graduates and expressed her pride of their successful completion of such a rigorous course of study. She highlighted that “post graduate study is not easy.”
Noting the role she plays in helping to shape the future, she spoke on behalf of her colleagues and commended them for “the expertise and competency that they will bring to national development.”
Senator Maynard Gibson reflected on Barry University’s mission statement and highlighted the benefits of a Barry education and university experience; one that “fosters individual and communal transformation where learning leads to knowledge and truth, reflection leads to informed action, and a commitment to social justice leads to collaborative service.” She then asked the graduates to consider how they “will apply their knowledge to informed action, social justice and collaborative service” to truly embody the ethos of the university.
The Attorney General stated emphatically that she was not an educator nor did she consider herself an expert on such topics but asserted that “I believe that I would be above criticism when I say that people and a nation are defined in large measure in what they are taught and that a good education will always be a key to future success.”
She challenged the graduates to ponder the following: “Is today’s curriculum relevant to a 21st century Bahamas and world and do teaching methods uphold teachers as nation builders?”
She also made mention of the amount of money that is invested in education; “I am advised that we spend more money per capita on education than countries like Singapore or our nearby neighbor, Cuba”. She then questioned whether or not we were getting value for money. “Can it be said that we are getting value for every dollar spent on education?”
She further went on to highlight the many accomplishments of Bahamians. Senator Maynard Gibson asserted that “it is said that we have more Rhodes Scholars per capita than anywhere else in the world, we are also Academy and Grammy Award winners as well as Olympic Gold medalists.”
She reminded those in attendance that “we are capable of accomplishing anything we put our minds to.” As she drew to an end, she proposed that she would like to see a country where every student thrived. “I would like to see a Bahamas where each and every student is educated to his or her full potential and that each student can find a meaningful role to play in nation building.”
She ended by wishing the graduates well in their future endeavours and encouraged teamwork among those in the education sector. “I encourage you to collaborate with your colleagues and with the visionary Minister of Education so as to launch 21st century initiatives to incite and excite our young people and all Bahamians to a quest for life-long learning – to fully honor and develop their God given potential.
Stephen McPhee, the only male in the program spoke on behalf of his cohort. “We the inaugural voyagers on board the SS Barry/Bahamas OLL make no such claim as leadership gurus, but respectfully sit in these long awaited seats as prospective graduates feeling fired up, and ready to embrace all opportunities to be a part of this new and ripe as Dr. Kopp would say, ‘environment of change where EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP is the order of the day.”’
The idea of the Organizational Learning and Leadership program was introduced to The Bahamas as a result of Minister Fitzgerald’s recommendation to Dr. Farrell. They engaged in numerous dialogues to determine the courses that would best meet the needs of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and The Bahamas at large. As such, these graduates were a part of the pilot program for the Master of Science Organizational Learning and Leadership.
Mr. McPhee reflected on their time in the program and share with those in attendance the highs and lows of their journey. “Our experience as we embarked on this training voyage to gain the appropriate KSA’s (Knowledge, Skills and Attitude) as Change Agents and Effective 21st Century leaders has been beyond mind-blowing. There were though times, fun times, sad times, happy times, angry times but most of all loving times. We must have been the most Diverse group of self-directed learners Barry had ever seen.”
Stephen noted that at first, many of them were uncertain about the journey. “We started this journey together but as separate individuals, and if truth be told some of us not knowing where we were headed. Just get on board was the call of the day and we soon discovered that Barry had a plan for us.”
He also highlighted the diverse make-up of the OLL cohort. “Could you imagine two officers from the police force; two hoteliers from Human resources, one supervisor/adjunct lecturer from the culinary school at the College of the Bahamas, three educators from private schools and seven educators from government schools?
He ended his remark by thanking all the persons involved in helping each of the thirty-nine graduates along the way, acknowledging that each person had a team who assisted them in various ways, and without whom none of them would have achieved their academic success.
