Cayman Islands YCLA 2016 Road Trip Weekly Tour to the Kimpton

Sept 26- Week 3 Connection with Youth & Mentorship

“It takes a village to raise a child” Old African Proverb
The connection for the YCLA Finalists with the Youth of Cayman is a highly scored portion in the selection committee directive. Through volunteering, mentoring, and educating the youth of Cayman, our Finalists are all strongly active in the community.

Dr. Kristina Maxwell has volunteered her time and skills as a healthcare worker and supporter of healthy living and injury prevention for Cayman’s youth. At the John Gray High School Career Fair and at the Cayman Prep School Career Class as a guest speaker in 2011, Dr. Kristina promoted her career choice to other young Caymanian’s who are considering healthcare as their future career choice. She also volunteers her time as an athletic trainer and physiotherapist for the active youth who are playing in the Caribbean U-19 Rugby Championships, screenings for the Grand Cayman Special Olympics athletes, and National Men’s Football. Most recently, her current connection with the youth of Cayman finds her attending practices on Fridays for injury

evaluation/prevention of injuries through input and stretching. In February she attended the Mayor’s Cup in Las Vegas with the U17 team, and in May she attended the Cayman Brac Training Camp with U17 team. She also assisted with the planning and execution of the CFU U17 World Cup Qualifier held locally. “The U17 Age group is 15-16year old boys who are playing soccer at a national team level; and Dr. Kristina was originally involved as the physio and technical fitness advisor for reducing injuries and keeping the children active in the sport. She travelled with the team to Vegas and then to Cayman Brac. Dr. Kristina has been a great addition to the coaching team and the boys love her and appreciate her dedication to them and their safety and development. Without her the team would have been smaller with increased injuries, and would not have been as prepared for success. She really cares about these kids and goes above and beyond to help them. She has even opened up the opportunity to a few of the boys to shadow her at the hospital to learn what she does and support their educational future choices.” Antwan Seymour (U17 national team manager)

Mrs. Shena Ebanks:
Shena enjoys working with children from all walks of life and age levels. She can be counted on by her daughters’ schools for fundraisers, volunteering, PTA, and parent education involvement and curriculum support. For the West Bay community Shena has instigated and managed a number of fundraisers at end of summer and Christmas time. She supports and volunteers with the Girl Guides and Rainbows organizations. Shena has always had a passion for teaching and educating young minds and although she did not have the resources at the time to achieve her first goal of becoming a teacher she has found many other outlets to not only make a contribution to her community but fulfill her passion of being an educator. Shena is actively volunteering with the youth mentoring interns from both the Passport to Success and Cayman Islands Further Education Centre (CIFEC) by assisting them with interview skills, job skills and resumes writing. Shena actively supports the Junior Achievement program as a course teacher teaching course programs at JGHS for the past 3 years. She enjoys working directly with the children and teaching them business and organizational structure whilst gleaning from them their creativity and excitement to learn. Shena enjoys working with, for, and alongside students especially as she volunteers with the Sir John A. Cumber Primary PTA. This year she became more involved with John Gray High School PTA by becoming this year’s PTA President

Tedrick Green:
Kiwanis is a child focused volunteer organization, and Tedrick is an avid participant with many of the programs such as: Buy a Kid Breakfast program, BookMobile, and Santa Landing. The “Buy A Kid Breakfast” is an initiative to raise funds to pay for breakfast for those little ones in primary school whose family cannot afford three meals a day, and send kids to school unfed. Kiwanis works with the school principals, and the caterer, to make sure that every child goes into the classroom after a nutritious breakfast. The theme of Buy A Kid Breakfast is Hungry Kids Don’t Learn. Kiwanis BookMobile is a library on wheels and is part of a worldwide project in which Kiwanian’s read and listen to children read. The idea is to stimulate a child’s interest in books and reading, stories and the imagination, at a very young age so that the child has a book-habit before gaining a TV fixation. Santa Landing, is an annual event held at the airport park which attracts over 500 kids each year. The Kiwanis work with community sponsors to put on the event at which free drinks and snacks are provided to kids and parents and every child receives a book gift from Santa. This event is truly the start of the Christmas season of giving, rather than taking in the Cayman Islands. Mr. Green is very active with these initiatives and feels that the purpose to support the youth of Cayman will end up with a stronger tomorrow. This is also the case with the program Passport2Success where Tedrick is a reoccurring Guest speaker. Tedrick explains that he as a child learned to read late; after which he developed a curiosity for life and adventure. “In particular youth literacy is an important issue for me, so as a promoter of balancing work with play, I really enjoy interacting with the kids and seeing how excited they get at Santa’s landing and the BookMobile”. Mr. Green has also been a private mentor for young budding local entrepreneurs on the ins-and-outs of starting a business. He provides coaching, advice, and introductions to members within his network when necessary to assist them realize their entrepreneurial goals. “It is really amazing and inspiring the lofty ideas that some of these young people represent. Their passion and zeal to create and innovate reignites my belief that the future of Cayman is ever so bright,” says Mr. Green. “Tedrick Green is an extraordinary young Caymanian who embodies leadership and youth advocacy. He has been a powerful guest speaker at The Passport2Success Programme, where he enthralls young minds to cleverly invest in success by creating a marketable form of their passions. Tedrick’s journey of entrepreneurialism is a fitting example of what our youth can aspire to achieve with hard work and perseverance. His humbleness and enthusiasm to influence our youth highlights why he is truly deserving of the 2016 YCLA accolade,” says Khadija Chisholm an assistant Psychologist at The Wellness Centre and Passport2Success Programme Facilitator.
Dr. Alexandra ‘Lexi’ Bodden:
Dr. Lexi is incredibly active with many levels of involvement and development for the youth of Cayman. On the ground level, she directly mentors high school and college students interested in mental health careers, locally and overseas, regarding graduate school, gaining clinical experience and the licensing process. At the leadership level, she has developed programs at UCCI to improve acceptance to grad school by allowing students to gain more specialized experiences in Mental Health with the introduction of the new Applied Psychology Concentration and involving them in research on related topics such as dating violence; she has provided educational articles and interviews on topics relevant to teens through the Youth Services Unit and local media; she was involved in the UCCI iMatter campaign with a commercial and interview as an alumna and now an Adjunct Lecturer at UCCI to encourage students to join and make the most of their time at the school; she facilitated group and family workshops for the Get Active Challenge, a teen summer weight-loss program, last year; Dr. Lexi developed and runs interactive stress-management workshops at local universities and professional schools through her work with BPW Grand Cayman; and she was a “Counsellor-on-Hand” for local events such as the “Girls’ Will” Conference with the Red Cross and the “Stand for the Silent” Anti-bullying event in 2014 to support any students that may have a difficult time with the materials and content addressed in these events. “Dr. Bodden frequently mentors young students who are interested in pursuing careers in mental health. Dr. Bodden encourages, educates and inspires Cayman’s students by taking the time to work with each person individually. She invests her time and energy to answer calls and emails, and often meets with them in person to discuss the decision to pursue higher studies and a career in mental health. Dr. Bodden’s high visibility and continued professional efforts are attracting more young people to the mental health profession”, says Dr. Lockhart, BHAC. To her credit, she has been invited to speak at the Honours’ Convocation at UCCI in 2013 and at the Cayman Prep and High School Graduation ceremony earlier this year. Her love for horses launched her to volunteer as an EAGALA-certified Mental Health Professional for Equine-Assisted Learning workshops at Cowboy Town Stables helping teens and young adults gain a better understanding of themselves and group dynamics and build confidence, communication and problem-solving skills through activities with the horses. She also mentors children interested in learning about horse-back riding and horse care with work with her own horses. “Dr. Alexandra Bodden has been an outstanding contributor to the continued success of the UCCI. Students always comment on the high quality of her lectures, her professionalism and humanity. Students’ best interest are always her top priority as evidenced in her advocacy for the new Applied Psychology Concentration and she is always willing to give time and energy to the school to encourage students through alumni speeches and interviews, the planning and execution of academic conferences, the presentation of papers and the conduct of relevant research to encourage them to gain additional exposure and experience outside of the classroom. In every way, Dr. Alex is a star!” says Livingston Smith, PhD, Professor & Chair, Social Sciences Department, Director, Research & Publications Editor, Journal of the University College of the Cayman Islands, Director, CXC Education Volunteer Programme

Brianna Wilkerson
Mrs. Wilkerson is a co-worship leader with the Church of God George Town Chapel working with the youth as she mentors and guides the team in song selection, the worship set, and in how to further develop their relationship with God personally and as worship leaders. The worship team consists of different ages of people, ranging from those still in high school, to the young adult and older generation.In 2009 through 2012 she was a student leader and then staff worker and with the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at the University of Tampa. There she mentored and coached women in various areas such as: God’s love for them, understanding their worth, how to study the bible for themselves and apply it to their daily lives, and how to listen to God and discern his voice. She also took responsibility to assist in organizing events for all students such as: prayer nights, awareness and education on how to fight certain injustices such as human and sex trafficking and poverty, missions trips overseas in Mexico and Haiti, retreats and bi-weekly meetings for the student leadership team, and New Student Welcome and Outreach events (game nights, open-mic nights, sport nights, etc.).Upon moving back to Cayman in 2013, Mrs. Wilkerson and her husband, Tomy, continued their work at with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship by launching the ministry here in in the Cayman Islands. Here she is one of the founding members of the movement/ministry and acts as a volunteer staff worker, marketing and communications volunteer, and board treasurer. She helps organize and also speak at student conferences and helps to plan leadership meetings for students. She also assists in raising financial, prayer, and volunteer support for the ministry, and attends global conferences and trainings representing InterVarsity in Cayman. As a marketing and communications volunteer internally and externally for the ministry, she has also worked with her husband to build an awareness of the ministry and its events here in Cayman through emails, social media, visiting churches, and through every day conversations. She was also recently appointed as the Board Treasurer and has been working with the board for the last couple years in further establishing the ministry here in Cayman. Through her entrepreneurial skills she opened her own company called Made Well, a health and nutrition coaching business focused on holistic health and wellness. Through her company she mentors and coaches clients and the community in through health coaching programs, regular newsletters and blog posts, and classes and workshops all on various topics such as nutrition, fitness, self-care, sleep, stress management, career, relationships, spirituality, natural solutions for your health and other lifestyle changes. She is also a Wellness Advocate and a Team Leader in the Cayman Islands with doTERRA International. She educates and teaches customers on using essential oils and essential oil products as natural solutions for their health, while also mentoring and coaching her team members in their personal and professional development, and also how to serve and provide value for customers.At PricewaterhouseCoopers, Brianna has also assisted with mentoring other Caymanian students in achieving their professional qualifications (i.e. CPA, ACCA, etc). She helped students create a plan to take and qualify for the professional exam by ensuring they are taking the correct and right amount of classes in University, as well as creating a study plan for each exam they have to take. She is also a Scholarship Interviewer for both the Cayman Islands Government and PricewaterhouseCoopers for their yearly accounting scholarships and assists in asking questions and determining which students are good candidates for the scholarships.“I have known Brianna Wilkerson for the last two and half years and since knowing her she has inspired me to reach for my goals and has given me the confidence to make a difference in this world. She has specifically mentored me in the area of healthy living, and has taught me new ways of living a well-balanced life. I have seen Brianna live out her daily life with a passion and a purpose to change the lives of those around her for the better. Whether it be on our churches Praise and Worship team, or teaching others to live healthier and happier Brianna has an enthusiasm for life and loves meeting new people and sharing her love of life with them. Brianna openly shares her life with others to inspire them to dream big and always live out their God-given purpose”, says Stephanie Myles, Made Well Essential Oil Team Member.