Here are the first 2 of the individual bios from the Proud of Them (PoT) reception held at the George Town Yacht Club on Wednesday, 3 August 2016.  

Youth Minister Osbourne Bodden and Education Minister Tara Rivers presented the 12 young people with certificates as well as $500 cash stipends.

See also iNews Cayman story published today “Proud of Them” in Top Story Slider

Tishan Crowe – Academics

Twenty-four year-old Tishan Crowe beat the odds as a young mother to achieve her goal of earning her bachelor’s degree, thereby becoming an inspiration to other young mothers striving for success.

Tishan became pregnant in high school. After completing high school, graduating with honours, she got a job to support her child. However she didn’t let being a teen mom stop her from reaching her goal of higher learning. While working full time, Tishan took evening classes until she was able to attain her associate’s degree, with honours.

Following this accomplishment, Tishan made the hard decision of going overseas to pursue her bachelor’s degree, leaving behind her then four-year-old daughter. The journey was not an easy one for Tishan; in addition to being separated from her daughter, whom she made every effort to visit, she faced difficulties financing her education. Through determination she was able to secure grants and loans to pay for school.

While studying at Johnson & Wales University, Tishan stayed focused and disciplined, resulting in excellent marks. In 2016 she attained a bachelor’s degree in business management with summa cum laude distinction. In fact, Tishan achieved the impressive grade point average (GPA) of 4.0 every semester, placing her on the dean’s list each term. She had the highest GPA of all the business students.

Her academic achievements led to her becoming the recipient of the Academic Performance Award. She was also elected to become a member of the Alpha Beta Kappa National Honour Society, which chooses students who display integrity, excellence and leadership.

Professors took notice of her hard work, nominating her to deliver the Valedictorian Honours Speech at her commencement ceremony. Though Tishan was not chosen to give the Valedictorian address, she was chosen to be the Awards Ceremony speaker.

Tishan’s achievements show that one can excel after teenage pregnancy. She often shares motivational messages on her social media pages to encourage others to achieve their goals. She has also inspired many friends, some of whom are also young mothers, to pursue their education.

Indeed, Tishan is an inspiration to anyone facing obstacles, with a message that hard work is the key to reaching your dreams.

PHOTOS:

Tishan (left) and family members with Minister Tara Rivers.

Tishan’s daughter also enjoyed the PoT reception.

Ethan Whittaker – Academics

Eighteen-year-old Ethan Whittaker is a youth of many talents, gifted in the fields of science and music. Self-motivated, creative and focused – yet humble – are some of qualities that describe Ethan, and explain why he has been able to achieve so much already.

Ethan’s academic résumé is so impressive that he has secured a seat in a top Ivy League University in the USA!  This Fall, Ethan will make his way to New Jersey to begin the journey of attaining a bachelor’s degree in physics at Princeton.

Ethan has interests in general and theoretical physics, as well as material science. He is, however, drawn to scientific research – and hopes to one day contribute to the work being done at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, in Geneva, Switzerland..particularly in the areas of standard model and quantum mechanics.

In high school, Ethan achieved eight A*s and four A’s in IGCSE, as well as four A*s at AS level at Cayman Prep. He was a recipient of Dart’s ‘Minds Inspired’ scholarship since 2011, which allowed him to intern at Dart Industries’ biotechnology company: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as Dart Neuroscience in San Diego, California.

Ethan is well aware that his chosen path doesn’t fall in line of what’s usually expected. He feels privileged to be able to pursue his passion and hopes he can inspire other students to consider careers in science.

Science isn’t the only arena in which Ethan is blazing a trail. He is also a gifted musician.

At 14, he passed with merit the Trinity College London Grade 8 piano exam, the highest level. The following year he passed the Grade 7 saxophone exam – also with merit.

His musical excellence was highlighted when he won the prestigious “Butterfield Young Musician of the Year” award in 2014, playing the steel pan. What was remarkable about his performance is that instead of playing a traditional Caribbean song, he instead chose to perform classical music; Frederic Chopin’s “Minute Waltz” and Johann Strauss II’s “Voices of Spring”.

PHOTOS:

Ethan collects his PoT award from Youth Minister Osbourne Bodden.