An 18-year-old inventor and the holder of several US patents – and who was recently here in Cayman pursuing a Gates’ Frontiers Foundation-sponsored project – is slated to be the keynote speaker at this week’s commencement ceremony at the University College of the Cayman Islands.

Mr. Nate Newman, a US high school senior and marine biology advocate, is believed to be the youngest person to address graduates of any local tertiary educational institution. He will address the some 150-strong 2012 class, one third of whom are graduating with honours, in a ceremony beginning at 7 pm, on Thursday, 1 November at the UCCI Sir Vassel Johnson Hall.

The ceremony will also be marked by the first ever award to two distinguished Caymanians of Honorary Doctor of Letters Degrees, to be announced at the ceremony.

The ceremony will be broadcast live by Cayman27 television, with the aid of Ernst & Young Inc., which has traditionally supported this and other UCCI events.

Graduation keynote speaker Newman, who is attending high school in Denver, Colorado, is himself an inspiration. As a speaker, he has already proven his mettle, having addressed a mix of the islands’ students at the UCCI campus in June, while here undertaking a project for his non-profit Teens4Oceans organisation. Seventeen years old at the time, he was in the Islands conducting research on coral reefs off East End, following an award of a $300,000 grant from the Gates Frontier Foundation.

Commenting at the time of Mr. Newman’s June visit, UCCI President Roy Bodden said, “I know that this young man will go on to pursue great things.”

The young entrepreneur is also a partner in a Boulder-based start-up known as Wild Goose Imaging, a company that creates self-cleaning housings for underwater cameras used in marine data collection.

Among his earlier accomplishments, as a seventh grade student Mr. Newman co-founded the Carbon Club, and persuaded his school’s parent teachers association to purchase renewable energy credits. By ninth grade, he had participated in the Gates Invention Competition, winning first prize and a patent nod in 2007, third place in 2008, and first prize in 2009. He pursued patents on two inventions and received patents on four permutations of his Gates inventions.

The young inventor competes in speech and debate, and in “Model UN” at his high school, and does it all while maintaining a GPA of 3.877.

Persons attending the graduation ceremony are urged to be seated by 6:45 pm latest, as the ceremony will begin at 7 pm promptly.

University College of the Cayman Islands

UCCI is an institution of higher learning that contributes to the Caymanian society by advancing knowledge and developing creative graduates, and through its cultural, social, economic and environmental activities. “We will admit all students with the potential and passion to learn. We will challenge students intellectually and prepare them for life in the global market place”.

The goals of the University College of the Cayman Islands are:

_To provide high quality education in career, liberal arts and transfer programmes;

_To encourage the maximum development of student potentials;

_To develop the competence of undergraduate students in basic skills;

_To prepare students in career programmes to meet the standards and competencies required for employment;

_To foster social and political awareness and involvement in the community through academic programmes and extra-curricular activities;

_To respond to the varied educational needs of the local community through a broad range of continuing education, career training and community service programmes;

_To develop new educational programmes in response to the economic development needs of the community in collaboration with the Cayman Islands Government, the Chamber of Commerce, and other local associations;

_To provide a systematic process of review that assures the realisation of the mission and goals of the University College.