Lucaya International School's (LIS) Michaela Ince will be attending Pomona College with the knowledge that her undergraduate degree studies will be paid for in full as the winner of the Grand Bahama Port Authority's (GBPA) top achiever award. As the winner, she was granted a full four-year scholarship for the college of her choice.
Ince, who was also the valedictorian of the class of 2014, said her years at LIS made her a well-rounded, open-minded individual who is not afraid to face challenges head on. She believes that high school not only taught her academically, but it also taught her valuable life lessons.
She told her fellow International Baccalaureate program graduates that, no matter how challenging something may seem, there is no point in getting intimidated.
"As we prepare to walk out of this graduation ceremony and walk into the 'real world', each of us following our own paths, I would like to remind us all that, while we may never be in a class together again, we will always be our class - the Lucaya International School class of 2014," she said.
Keana Pakosh was named salutatorian.
Fourteen of the graduates were accepted into university with one opting for a gap year. They include: Alliqueka Capron, University of Nottingham, U.K.; Rhumer Culmer, University of Tampa, Fla.; Keana Pakosh, University of Toronto, Canada; Alexander Thompson, Texas A&M Galveston, Texas; George McInnes, gap year; Alexander von Albedyhll, University of Groningen, The Netherlands; Imani Sterling, University of Westminster, U.K.; Eric Grigorof, OCAD (the Ontario College of Art and Design), Canada; Cassandra Haddad, University of South Florida, Fla.; Asiyah Robinson, Gulf Coast University or University of Victoria; Katie Hindley, Newcastle University, U.K.; Ince, Pomona. College, Calif.; Andrew Hindley, Liverpool John Moore's University, U.K. and Rania Williams, Michigan Technological University, Mich.
Sharon Wilson, LIS headmistress, said that for administrators at schools, universities and colleges around the world, the IB is more than a curriculum and a testing service, but a powerful experience in learning and growth; it is a way of life and shared experience that develops character and bonds students and teachers together in friendship and attitudes that will last lifetimes.

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