Martina Watler – Academics – 15 – George Town

Martina Watler’s writing skills earned her big recognition and major accolades. In 2015, she was a winner in the Commonwealth Essay competition. The competition is open to students from 49 countries within the Commonwealth. That year, there were over 13,000 entries. Out of the 7,200 entries in the junior category, Martina’s essay ranked second overall. That summer she travelled to London, where she visited Buckingham Palace to receive her prize.

Her achievements are not limited to her writing. Martina is also an excellent student. She has made the Academic and Effort Honour Roll at St. Ignatius Catholic School. She earns As and has a 3.9 GPA. Her natural talent and willingness to learn has earned her awards in a variety of subjects. She is also a member of her school’s band and choir.

Other extracurricular activities that Martina participates in include Junior Achievement in which she has served as her company’s VP of Finance. She is an active member of her church’s youth ministry programme, serving as an assistant at Vacation Bible School. Martina also travelled to Scotland to participate in a two-week music exchange programme. Most recently, Martina has been involved with the Duke of Edinburgh programme, and is preparing for a two-day camp expedition.

When Martina is not doing school work or participating in her many extracurricular activities you can find her reading, drawing, painting, cooking or playing netball. Martina aspires to pursue a career in either one of a number of challenging industries, including accounting, orthodontics, architecture, or forensic pathology.

Aaron West – Academics – 18 – George Town

Aaron West is a leader to his peers and community. Aaron’s leadership skills are exemplified in his participation in Junior Achievement (JA). In the programme, Aaron has held important positions such as VP of Production as well as, most recently, president of his company. He was invited to serve as the master of ceremonies at the 2016 JA Awards banquet. His company was named the Company of the Year, and he travelled to Mexico to compete against other top companies, in the global JA programme. Aaron was the winner of the JA Next Generation Leadership Award, which enabled him to represent the Cayman Islands at the Next Generation Conference in Canada. Aaron’s leadership goes beyond Junior Achievement as he served as prefect at both John Gray High School, and Cayman Prep and High School.

Leadership is not Aaron’s only skill, he is also a gifted artist. He earned an A* level pass for the GCSE Art and Design Exam. In the summer of 2016, Aaron travelled to Atlanta, Georgia to attend the Savannah College of Art & Design’s (SCAD’s) summer programme. Aaron and several other students hosted an art exhibition to raise funds to attend the summer programme. While at SCAD, Aaron dove into student life and attended classes with top professors at the highly-ranked arts school. Aaron continues to excel in art, having this year, been awarded the Best Artwork in the 14-17 age category, in the local Poinciana Festival.

Aaron is also an excellent student. He has passed eight external exams, earning Level I and Level II passes. He graduated with high honours from John Gray High School. He also earned a Bronze ASDAN certificate, a vocational award, as well as a Level II BTEC Certificate in Music. Aaron successes are even more impressive when you consider that he is doing it all while living with Crohn’s Disease, a lifelong inflammatory bowel disease, which can severely impact a patient’s quality of life. Despite this challenge, Aaron continues to rise to the top.

He has recently been accepted at the highly ranked University College of London (UCL) where he plans to study Urban Planning or Architecture

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