St. Anne's School's Enrique Pyfrom walked away with the title of Most Distinguished Achiever during Junior Achievement Bahamas' 38th annual awards ceremony. He took home an $8,000 scholarship from Cable Bahamas.
Malachi Munroe, a graduating Queen's College senior and president of JA company KPMG Key$, was second. Tying for third place were Kingsway Academy graduating senior Makayla Hanna, also of Bahamas First Anchors, and Patria Symonette, a Queen's College graduating senior and president of JA company Commonwealth FEVER. They all received scholarships.
Bahamas First Anchors was named 2017 JA Company of the Year.
Outstanding accomplishments of achievers, volunteers and counseling firms for the 2016-2017 year were honored at the ceremony, which was held under the theme "Solving Tomorrow's Problems Today".
Raymond Winder, JA Bahamas chairman, said the theme spoke directly to the way of the 21st century.
"No doubt we are living in some very unique and challenging times. The world continues to change at the speed of thought, advancing at a rate that requires as much preparation as it does information. Notwithstanding challenges that we face, after 38 years in existence, JA Bahamas remains the number one youth program in the country. The success of the program is measured directly by the impact it has had on tens of thousands of alumni [and supporters], many of whom are now distinguished in their careers and businesses."
Approximately six months were spent fostering youth innovation, financial literacy, entrepreneurship, college preparedness and work readiness in the students.
Key events and activities of the program included job shadow day, college and career fair, a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) summit, speech competition and BahamaJAC. The culmination of all of the events and the work and commitment of participants was the awards ceremony.
Cable Bahamas donated $8,000 toward the scholarships meted out.
"As a non-profit organization, Junior Achievement Bahamas has the task of fundraising so that it can ,continue its efforts in youth development. In order to meet the mission and provide services for the community, they rely on the generosity of individuals and businesses like Cable Bahamas. Without the assistance and support of community-minded organizations, we cannot contribute to the youth advancement of our country," said Tammy Lecky, JA Bahamas program manager.
JA company counseling firms included Bahamas First, BTC, Commonwealth Bank, Deloitte, KPMG, the National Insurance Board, Scotiabank and Sunshine Finance.
"JA New Providence congratulates all award recipients for displaying leadership, entrepreneurial drive and creativity, throughout the 25-week collaborative environment of the company program. JA Bahamas continues to be grateful for the commitment shown by our corporate sponsors and volunteers, who recognize the importance of promoting financial literacy for our future business leaders and entrepreneurs who will undoubtedly shape and enrich the economic future of The Bahamas," said Lecky.
JA Bahamas' mission is to promote economic literacy and understanding of business and competitive free enterprise among young Bahamians, the future leaders of The Bahamas. Currently the program facilitates students from K5 through grade 12 and has proven to help students understand the importance of financial literacy and how it plays a role in every community. Programs have been operated on various islands across the country, including Abaco, Andros, Eleuthera, the Berry Islands, Cat Island, Grand Bahama, New Providence and Mayaguana.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian