The Proud of Them initiative recognises the positive achievements of young persons aged between 10 – 25 years. Through a public nomination process, individuals are honoured in the categories of Academics, Careers, Business, Sports, Culture or Community Service. Each person selected will be featured for six months at a time on billboards established across the Cayman Islands, and will also receive a certificate and $500.

The recipient of the third round of the nominations is Loshana Lopez-Francis.

Although Proud of Them awardee Loshana Lopez-Francis is only 16 years old she already stands out as one of those remarkably well-rounded young people in our community.

Loshana has always been an above-average student, striving for academic excellence along with being involved in a range of extracurricular activities and setting a good example for her peers.

This year she graduated from Clifton Hunter High School with 13 external examination passes, where she was recognized for having maintained a high GPA with a “Top 10” Academic Student Award, and as Most Outstanding Student in three subjects – Mathematics, English Language and Spanish. She was also Head Girl of her graduating class.

In Year 10, Loshana sat three CXC external examinations – Mathematics, English Language and EDPM examinations, achieving Grade I (Distinction) in all. That allowed for her to study more subjects including AS Mathematics in Year 11, which resulted in her achieving a high number of passes upon graduating (having sat and excelled at the most subjects in the CHHS school environment from her graduating class).

However, Loshana is known for more than her academic endeavours. She has also played key roles in extracurricular activities such as the Rotary Science Fair having won first place in the Physics and Chemistry category along with a fellow classmate in 2010. She pursued an interest in the flute from an early age, participating in the National Children’s Festival of the Arts and receiving several awards for her performances.

She was also a member of the National Girls’ Volleyball Team and a contestant in Miss Teen Pageant last year. In June 2012, she was elected to be the charter President of the Alpha Leo Club of Clifton Hunter High School, where she led her club in various community service projects.

In further attempts to reach out to the student body, Loshana was Head of Student Council and a Peer Counsellor. Being chosen for the position of Head Girl at Clifton Hunter High School (CHHS) in the 2012-2013 academic year demonstrated her academic aptitude and strong social skills. She served as Mistress of Ceremonies at both the official school opening and the 2013 Graduation. In this capacity, she organized the first Year 11 Formal event, as a way for the school-leavers to commemorate their time at CHHS.

Loshana is proud to know that she set this event in motion for the upcoming school-leaving classes. In addition to Loshana’s leadership positions in school, she strived for such titles outside of school as well.

She was the Vice-President of Human Resources of her Junior Achievement company in 2013, and during the summer of that year she represented the Cayman Islands at the Global Young Leaders Conference. Earlier this year, she acted as Deputy Governor in the CPA 7th Youth Parliament, and was an active co-host on the weekly radio show, YouthFlex, on Radio Cayman.

Now in pursuit of a career in the medical field, this young scholar si in her second year of A-Level courses at Cayman Prep and High School, successfully . Loshana aspires to further her studies at a university in the United Kingdom and then return to serve her country.

Loshana has proven that students who succeed academically often have a rich extra-curricular involvement. Her friends and family agree that Loshana is a charming young lady, who approaches life with ingenuity, and easily wins the admiration and respect of persons with whom she comes in contact.

IMAGE: Loshana Lopez-Francis (Academics)