Mark Humes, Carlos Outten, Trevor Whylly, Nathan Rolle and John Fowler comprise the new executive officers for the Morehouse College Bahamas Alumni Association.
Humes serves as president; Outten as vice president; Whylly, secretary; Rolle, treasurer; and Fowler, public relations.
Humes becomes the organization's fourth president, following Whylly, Fabian Fernander, and immediate past president Albrion Symonette.
The Morehouse College Bahamas Alumni Association was started in 1992.
The mission of the Association is to support and advance the interest of Morehouse College throughout The Bahamas by way of social engagements, community service, scholastic enterprises, and mentorship, to prepare young Black men to become committed leaders in scholarship and service to the local and global community. It aims to be the preeminent regional community of Morehouse Men that connects the people of the region to Morehouse College, the Morehouse College experience, and the Morehouse legacy of excellence in leadership, scholarship, and service.
The Morehouse alumnus began their 2023-2024 team on January 19.
Humes is a 1996 graduate of Morehouse College. At Morehouse, he obtained Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and French and later attended the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, where he received a master degree in African American Literature and Theory.
While a student at Morehouse, Humes became the first Bill and Camille Cosby/Robert E. Johnson Academic Scholarship Award recipient and was very active in student and institutional development, working with the office of admission and recruitment and residential Life as a recruitment officer, assistant director of the college's pre-freshman summer program (PSP), resident assistant, and supervisor of the Frederick Douglas Resource/Study Center.
A former assistant professor of English at the University of The Bahamas, Humes also served as the former Member of Parliament for Ft. Charlotte, chairman of The Bahamas Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA), The Bahamas Independence Secretariat, and The Bahamas National Honours Awards from 2017 to 2021.
Humes currently designs and manages the strategic development of start-up enterprises, and is host of Now Listen Here, an online streaming platform dedicated to addressing global issues impacting people of color, particularly men of color.
Outten is a 2019 graduate of Morehouse College. He earned his bachelor's degree in theater and music. He creates plays that deal with Bahamian society and injustices. His most recent play was "The Guinep Tree".
Outten is an Oprah Winfrey Scholar and performed tours of service in South Africa and Zimbabwe. In 2019, he earned the Verbal Commendation Indonesia's Asia World United Nations Model. In addition, he is a Teach for America Alum, an Elected Leadership Fellow, and a Policy Advisor Fellow for Leadership in Educational Equality. He is currently pursuing a degree in public administration, concentrating on economic and political Development, from SIPA/Columbia University. He is expected to graduate in 2024.
Whylly graduated from Morehouse College in 1991 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science. At Morehouse, Whylly founded and became president of Organization of Bahamian Students, where students pursuing higher education in metropolitan Atlanta came together for the common good of The Bahamas. He was also a student recruiter for the college.
Whylly is a former Senator and served as special consultant and personal assistant to former Prime Minister Perry Christie. He is the founder and president of the Bahamas Outstanding Students Foundation awards program, which honors students for their outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments.
Whylly also serves as the state president of the Bahamas State Association of Elks (I.B.P.O.E.W.), chairman of the annual Joe Billy-Blind Blake Festival, and chairman of the congregational board at Epiphany Methodist Church. He was ordained to the Christian ministry in 2016, after more than 15 years as a lay minister, and served as the first president of the Morehouse College Bahamas Alumni Association.
Rolle, a former Gentleman's Club scholarship recipient, graduated summa cum laude from Morehouse College in 2020, earning a bachelor of arts degree in international studies, with a minor in Spanish. During his time at Morehouse, he became the first Bahamian initiate of the Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc. and was selected as an Oprah Winfrey Scholar. He was also the recipient of the Morehouse College Benjamin McLaurin award for leadership, Alpha Lambda Delta Honors, Phi Beta Kappa Honors, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and the Verbal Commendation Award at Asia World Model United Nations.
Rolle is actively involved in the financial services industry in The Bahamas, as a research officer, writing economic and quarterly reviews on behalf of banks and the Government, and educating others on global economic policies. He is an outspoken activist on social, racial, and gender issues and has one of his essays, "Black Masculinity: A Lost Cause? I Don't Think So" published in textbooks for English students.
Fowler graduated from Morehouse College in 1979 with a Bachelor's degree in Spanish and a minor in political science. He earned his MBA from Nova Southeastern University, and an LLB Laws degree from the University of the Bahamas. He is currently pursuing his Bar certification at the Eugene Dupuch School of Law.
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