Exactly 365 days after they were given a chance for success, the graduates of the second cohort of the Passport2Success (P2S) programme relish in their accomplishments. Sixteen of 24 graduates attended the twelve-month reunion on 7th December 2011 at Margaritaville. Each of the students were excited to come together once again to see one another, and share their experiences in the past year.

Each of the individuals in the program has been successful since their graduation in one way or the other. A quick snap shot of data of the student’s progression shows that similar to the pilot, employment rates have increased significantly since the programme ended.

Mrs. Shannon Seymour of the Wellness Centre who is the programme coordinator stated in regards to the graduates reunion: “To see all these young people one year later doing so well is very exciting. The programme is bringing about sustainable changes in their lives. They may not have left the programme employed, but they left equipped to be successful in their job search efforts and have demonstrated they now have the skills needed to maintain employment once they achieve it. I am very proud of their hard work.”

Ryan Graham, 19, completed the program a year ago and is still successfully employed full time at McAlpine Construction. Ryan celebrated his one year anniversary with the company the very same week of the reunion. Ryan was able to get the job through the work shadowing program which is a part of the P2S curriculum. Ryan commented “I recommend this program because I did it and it helped me! Keep going to the programme even if you have problems at first, do what you have to do to get through.”

Betty Brown, 18 is employed at Kirk Supermarket part time and is attending UCCI as a full time student studying for her associates in Business Administration. Shekina Lynch, 18 is employed full time at Kirk Supermarket as an HBC clerk. Shekina found her passion when she went to the P2S programme. Shekina was assigned to work at a local preschool; and there discovered that she really enjoyed working with preschool kids.  Shekina is now a big advocate to continue her education and eventually would like to own and operate a preschool. When asked about her future plans she stated “I would like to go to school for early childhood education because I have learnt it’s my passion and I discovered it through my work study!”

Tincia Tibbetts, 18 is now a full time employee at the Cayman Islands Corporative Credit Union as a Member Service Representative. Tinicia was enthused about the reunion and the program stating “I like my job! I got it on the last week of the program” Tinicia’s dream job is in the banking industry and thanks to the program she was able to not only get into her choice industry but she was able to solidify her writing and communication skills and learnt the importance of punctuality. Excited about her results from the program she said “It’s a very good program, you learn a lot, and it’s a good opportunity to prepare you for the working world”

Daniella Tbbetts, 19 is Tincia’s sister and they share their enthusiasm for the P2S programme. Daniella works full time at Kirk’s Supermarket as a scanning clerk; she was able to get this job after she completed the programme. Daniella’s dream job is to be a graphic designer and she states “I learnt how to make eye contact and proper introductions;

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