jcoba-ny 20th anniversary souvenir journal

JAMAICA COLLEGE OLD BOYS’ ASSOCIATION NEW YORK, INC.

2 0 Y e a r s o f S e r v i c e t o J C a n d J a m a i c a 3

08:00 PM

Cocktails

Book Signing Dr. Kwame Dawes (Host: akashic books)

Musical RepertoireMonticelli Trio

09:00 PM

Welcome & Introductions

Invocation & JC School Prayer

National AnthemsUnited States of America & JamaicaAccompaniment: The Monticelli Trio

RemarksDr. Dwight Williams President, JCOBANY

Keynote AddressMr. Ruel ReidPrincipal of Jamaica College

Video Presentation“Fervet Opus in Campis”

JC Foundation ReportHon. R. Danny Williams

DINNER

Musical RepertoireThe Monticelli Trio

Poetry Reading/Book ExcerptsDr. Kwame Dawes

AWARDS CEREMONYHost: His Excellency Raymond O. Wolfe,Ambassador and Permanent Representativeof Jamaica to the United Nations

Musical RepertoireMonticelli Trio

Ms. Sabrina HoSang Community Leadership AwardPresenter: Consul General Herman LaMont

Dr. Kwame DawesOutstanding Alumnus Award Presenter: His Excellency Raymond O. Wolfe

Mr. Wayne Seaton Outstanding Alumnus AwardPresenter: Dr. Dwight Williams

Hon. R. Danny WilliamsDistinguished Alumnus AwardPresenter: Mr. Derryck Cox, OD,

Closing RemarksMr. Michael McDonald Vice President JCOBANY

DancingMusic by Soul Tone Disco with DJ Prentice

PROGRAMME

Kevin MoultonHost


2 0 Y e a r s o f S e r v i c e t o J C a n d J a m a i c a4

JCOBANY President’s Message

I am delighted to welcome you to the Jamaica College Old Boys Association of NewYork (JCOBANY) 20th Anniversary and Awards Banquet. We’re here tonight to cele-brate accomplishments and to recognize leadership. And indeed, there’s much to celebrate!

As I reflect on the history of the JCOBANY, I am deeply grateful to the pioneers whostarted this Association approximately 2O years ago and to all the alumni and friends ofJamaica College (JC) that have supported the organization over the years.

Tonight is a special night! Not only because we are celebrating 20 years of service to JC,Jamaica and the local community, but because of the caliber people we are honoring andthe keynote speaker, Mr. Ruel Reid, Principal of Jamaica College. We anxiously awaitMr. Reid’s remarks regarding the magnificent transformation of our beloved alma mater,Jamaica College.

My heartiest congratulations and warmest welcome to our well-deserving honorees:

• Hon. R. Danny Williams, class of ’52 is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Mr. Williams isarguably Jamaica's most energetic businessman and his significant contributions to JC and Jamaica is testimony tothe difference that one individual can make.

• Dr. Kwame Dawes, class of ’78 is the recipient of the Outstanding Alumnus Award. Dr. Dawes is a prolific author,poet, musician and professor. He has been aptly described as “one of the most important writers of his generationwho has built a mighty and lasting body of work”. We look forward to hearing some excerpts from his works dur-ing the programme tonight.

• Mr. Wayne Seaton, class of ’ ’80 is the recipient of the Outstanding Alumnus Award. Mr. Seaton is the ManagingDirector of Public Finance at Wells Fargo Securities. He has had a stellar career as an accomplished senior level exec-utive at several global financial institutions over past 20 years. Mr. Seaton is also a major financial benefactor andformer Board member of the JCOBANY.

• Ms. Sabrina HoSang, recipient of the Community Leadership Award is an exemplary dynamic young leader witha deep philanthropic spirit, who is carrying on her family’s tradition of giving back generously and consistently tothe community.

What we’re doing here tonight is more than an awards ceremony, as enjoyable as that is. By singling out and recogniz-ing these individuals, we send a message that this is the kind of society we want to have—a society that respects indi-vidual achievement and takes pride in the values and traditions which have been the hallmarks of Jamaica College forover 200 years.

We also extend warmest welcome to our special guests and two of Jamaica’s most exceptional public servants: JamaicaCollege Alumnus, His Excellency Mr. Raymond O. Wolfe, Ambassador of Jamaica and Permanent Representative tothe United Nations and to our newly appointed Consul General to New York, Mr. Herman LaMont.

My deepest gratitude to the JCOBANY members and to the Executive Board, our sponsors, supporters, well-wishers,and all who were able to make it here tonight. Your continued support is our lifeline.

Once again I welcome you all to what I know will be a most enjoyable evening.

Floreat Collegium - Fervet Opus In Campis!

Sincerely,Dwight E. Williams, DDS,MPH

President.



The Jamaica College Old Boys Association of New York Inc. is a registered charity with InternalRevenue Service (IRS) 501(C) 3 tax-exempt status. Founded in 1990, the JCOBANY is the official TriState representative of Jamaica College, one of the oldest and most distinguished secondary schools inthe Western Hemisphere.



Jamaica College Principal’s Message

Iam very delighted to greet you on this special occasion of your 20th anniversary and annual dinner. Wehave been blessed over the many years with your generous contributions to the development of Jamaica

College and more recently our partnership for transformation and our success in the FTC robotics com-petition. We have proven that we are not only among the best in Jamaica but internationally.

You all must feel very proud of the returns on your investment (ROI).Jamaica College is once again seen as a school of choice. We haveachieved so many great things in the last five to six years that we havebecome the envy of all schools in Jamaica. I want to pay special tributeto our just retired distinguished Board Chairman, Dr. Hon. R. DannyWilliams and Mrs. Williams for their role and leadership in this trans-formational effort.

We have excelled on every front. Our academic performance, infra-structure and discipline have seen major improvement. We have seen 40% improvement in 2009 and 2010 and 1 00 % improvement inMathematics passes in 201 1 and continued good results in EnglishLanguage. We gained 1 00 % passes in most subjects at the CXCAdvanced Level (CAPE). We have continued our excellence in co-cur-ricular and sports. 201 0-201 1 is a most special and memorable year aswe continued to do well in Schools’ Challenge Quiz and athletics atCHAMPS, we retained the U14 football all island championship,

regained the Walker Cup and for the first time in our history was triple champions of, Manning Cup,Walker Cup, and the Olivier Shield. Having done well at the Gibson Relays last year we won the covetedMortimer Geddes Trophy at CHAMPS 201 1 after a long drought and gave it up to a deserving CalabarHigh in 201 2. This is indeed is a fantastic roll of unprecedented achievements and turn around in such ashort time period.

I wish to thank our Vice principals, Deans, HODs, Year supervisors and classroom teachers, ancillary,administrative staff, parents, prefects and students for the team work exhibited in making our transforma-tional efforts so far very successful.

Thanks also to our Board, the New York Old Boys, JC Trust, JC Foundation and JCOBA locally for thesignificant financial contribution to our development programmes. Special recognition should be extend-ed to Hon. Dr. Karl Hendrickson for his contribution of $ 50 million toward the building of our new audi-torium. We thank Mother’s Enterprises Ltd. and Mr. Carlyle Hudson (old boy) for an investment of $ 1 0million to refurbish our canteen. Thanks too to our 50s and 60s old boys for an exquisite entrance gatetotaling some $ 1 0 million.

We intend to make each school year better than the one before. May God continue to bless us all and ourschool, Jamaica College.

Fervet, forever!!

Ruel B. Reid, Principal – Jamaica College

Principal Ruel Reid



Over Two Decades of ~ Dedication ~ Commitment ~ Service

UJAA President’s Message

I bring greetings to you on this 20th anniversary celebration of JamaicaCollege Old Boys’ Association in New York. You are gathered tonightbecause you share a vision of improving the education and well-being of theyoung men at your alma mater.

As “old boys”, more than any other group associated with the school com-munity, you have that passion, that understanding and the opportunity tocontribute to the development of Jamaica College. Yours is a tradition of tire-less enthusiasm, shown without fanfare or fuss. Why? You have not lost sightof the fact that you have been blessed to have attended the fourth oldestschool in Jamaica where was nurtured, over the years, a rich tradition in aca-

demics and athletics. And so, as “old boys”, you continue to play important roles in the religious, political, busi-ness and professional development of Jamaica.

I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to mention your most recent contribution to the life of JC.Three years ago, it was you who introduced Robotics to the young men leading to a historic first entry of a highschool outside of the United States in a robotics competition. The success of the team has been very encouragingand that you are now sharing this with other schools through the alumni associations here in New York is a fineexample of leadership and vision. I applaud and endorse your continued and unwavering contribution.

The timing is ever more right than before as our beloved country celebrates 50 years as an independent nation.We in the Diaspora have contributed significantly during these years and must continue to play an effective rolein the restoration and building of our nation. I call upon each of you to continue to be engaged in the life of yourschool, your community and, similarly, the life of UJAA.

I join you in celebrating your honorees and commend you on your selection. Congratulations to Messrs Williams,Seaton and Dawes and Ms. HoSang. Tonight’s celebration and merriment is well deserved. Let it keep you going,spur you on and remember “ Fervet opus in campis”.

Be assured of the continuing support of UJAA on whose behalf I extend best wishes for a successful celebrationthis evening and for many more years of continued success.

Kalene Largie,President

UNION OF JAMAICAN ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONS (U.S.A.) INC.1452 President Street, Brooklyn, New York 11213 |516.713.8270 |www.ujaausa.org



JCOBANY – A BRIEF HISTORY

In 1992 the Jamaica College Alumni Association (USA) Inc. was born when Michael Jones, Gary Gooden, PaulLewis, Laurence Cooper, Donovan Jones and Marlon Hew signed on to the project. This group was soon joinedby stalwarts like Lowell Campbell, Lance Clarke, Leslie Woodbine, Keith McLean and Derek Robertson.

A media campaign in the Weekly Gleaner announcing the first meeting, yielded not the flood of eager JC alum-ni we naively expected, but two charming young ladies, Paulette James and her cousin Junie. That Paulette hasremained an ardent supporter of JC to this day is testimony to her discerning nature. Donovan Jones, was elect-ed president.

The Association was faced with two seemingly irreconcilable circumstances – the apathetic nature of many JCalumni and the felt need among the Executive to be quickly among the leaders of the alumni movement. It wasdecided that only innovation could effectively solve that puzzle. We would do things differently. Our focus wouldbe JC but also always looking to the bigger picture of nationalism in our projects.

The Association, like other groups, has supported our school’s Penn Relays efforts over many years (kudos toLance Clarke for his 20 unbroken years of service on this project). After seeing the amazing platform that Pennprovides for Jamaicans, plans were laid and executed in 1995-1999 to exploit it in a way no one else had. SoTrackstars Magazine was born, with reporting on ALL the schools from Jamaica participating at Penn, writtenby a stellar team of reporters hired in Jamaica including the late, great Jimmy Carnegie. Led by Trackstars, theAssociation launched Jamaican style street merchandising at Penn with T-shirts, flags etc. offered for sale. This wasa massive hit with track fans and one of the factors which inspired Irwine Clare to create the remarkable TeamJamaica Bickle initiative. Irwine was instrumental in the success of Trackstars before creating TJB.

In the 1990s the Association was privileged to host and honor Principal Ruel Taylor, Vice Principal JimmyCarnegie, Noel Mignott, Derryck Cox, Bruce Golding and Vinnie Hosang among other luminaries. This providesgreat historical context to the very distinguished honorees gracing our 20th anniversary event.

In the late 1990s the Association formulated the JC 2000 Project, aimed at creating a 21st century technologyplatform at the school. Computers and peripherals were supplied to JC in this period. A large donation of 50 com-puters was enabled by Max Maxwell, an alumnus then teaching at the prestigious Lawrenceville School.

The JCOBANY ethos of innovation fortunately survives today under the leadership of Dr. Dwight Williams inthe re-formed Jamaica College Old Boys Association of New York, Inc. In 2009 the Association launched thePatty Festival of America, highlighting the economic and cultural importance of this great Jamaican staple,recently voted the 3rd best street food in the World. We however, all know that it is THE best.

Also in 2009 the Association began to address Jamaica’s deficiency in science education with even more appliedinnovation. JCOBANY got JC involved in Robotics Competitions run by US FIRST. This was done after wenoted the tremendous excitement for science that robotics generated among students. We wanted this excitementfor science to migrate to JC and Jamaica. Board Chairman Hon. Danny Williams and Principal Ruel Reid wereboth receptive to the idea of a JC Robotics Club. That’s how organized robotics in Jamaica started. One can readhow this project is growing into a national robotics movement elsewhere in this publication.

What of the future for JCOBANY? We can’t reveal the answer to that but whatever it is, it will be innovative.

Fervet Opus in Campis Indeed



Suji Min and Gjilberta have been performing forthe past two and a half years extensively in the Tri-State area of NY, NJ and Pennsylvania. They arehighly accomplished musicians in their own fields,ranging from performing for the Pope John Paul IIand winning concerto competitions and chambermusic competitions worldwide. The three of them have been great friends for

many years, and one day they got together to playsome new orchestra pieces and realized that eachof them had a very different voice on the cellos.The orchestra pieces were pushed immediatelyaside and they started playing three-part harmonysongs and various solo pieces. Soon they realizedthat they would have to play together more oftenand create a very uncommon trio. Consequentlythe Monticelli Trio was born.Since that wonderful day, they have created TheMonticelli Trio with a vast repertoire of musicranging from Classical, Broadway, Tango, Pop,Rag, Jazz, Modern etc. Suji, MIn and Gjilberta

write their own musical arrangements as well, dueto a serious lack of cello trio repertoire. A few new pieces are being composed and com-missioned from various composers specifically forthe trio.

Monticelli Trio performs extensively for a widerange of audiences, compiling but not limited to

various Corporation events, Charity BenefitConcerts, Sing For Hope, Public and PrivateSchools, NY Fashion Week etc.

They have performed in Carnegie Hall,Symphony Space, NJPAC, Harvard Club, variousKorean Society events, Albanian TV, PublicLibraries and more.

For more information about this fabulous group,visit their website @ www.monticellitrio.com.

It Takes 3 to Cello…



United States of America

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last

gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through

the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly

streaming?

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting

in air, �

Gave proof through the night that our flag was

still there; �

O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,�

O'er the land of the free and the home of the

brave?

Jamaica

Eternal Father, bless our landGuard us with Thy mighty handKeep us free from evil powersBe our Light through countless hoursTo our leaders, Great DefenderGrant true wisdom from aboveJustice, truth, be ours forever

Jamaica, land we loveJamaica, JamaicaJamaica, land we love

Teach us true respect for allStir response to duty's callStrengthen us, the weak, to cherishGive us vision, lest we perishKnowledge send us, Heavenly FatherGrant true wisdom from aboveJustice, truth be ours foreverJamaica, land we love

Jamaica, JamaicaJamaica, land we love

National Anthems

Bless O, Lord this College.

Create among us the spirit of comradeship and

loyalty to one another.

When we are called to rule, make us rule with

ojustice.

Drive away from us all ignorance and hardness of

heart,

All things dishonorable and unclean.

Build us up in body, mind and spirit

Till we come to the stature of the perfect man,

Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Jamaica College School Prayer



Editorial & AcknowledgementsIt is with great pleasure that JCOBANY presents

this Souvenir Journal in recognition of our twenty

years of service. The Journal Committee congratu-

lates our distinguished and accomplished honorees,

Hon. R Danny Williams, Mr. Wayne Seaton, Mr.

Kwame Dawes, Ms. Sabrina HoSang and our

keynote speaker, Principal Ruel Reid. We take par-

ticular pleasure in helping to document their con-

tributions to school, community and country.

Jamaica College has an extraordinarily rich history

spanning more than two hundred years from its

founding in 1795. JCOBANY’s history is a mere

twenty years but in that period the Association has

managed to make valuable contributions to JC,

Jamaica and its host community in the United

States. Our Journal provides a snapshot of this

record of achievement. Behind these achievements

are countless hours of selfless volunteer service per-

formed at great sacrifice by a relatively small num-

ber of people. We salute this spirit of volunteerism

and wish it a long life in service to our cause.

Many thanks to our advertisers for their support.

Without you this Journal would still be just a nice

idea and not the worthwhile product it is.

To Alltime Printing, our long time and foundation

partners in publications, this Journal marks a very

happy reunion. JCOBANY has worked closely with

Junior and Vinton since 1992 through several titles

we have dreamed up over the years including

Trackstars magazine. As usual we were late through

the gate with this one, having started in early April.

As usual, Alltime Printing tolerated our folly, deliv-

ering our product on time and under budget,

Thanks once more Alltime.

As JCOBANY looks to the future and the next

twenty years, we trust that the Association will con-

tinue to record its history of service through publi-

cations such as this. We also hope that JCOBANY

will have gatherings such as this to share it with.

Enjoy.

Journal Committee

Please support those who supported us.

Journal & Planning CommitteeLowell CampbellDonovan JonesEldon LewisKevin MoultonDr. Dwight Williams

Cover Design & PrintingAlltime Printing

Typesetting & Mock-upLowell Campbell

DigitizationDonovan Jones

Book SigningHosted by akashic books

Musical Repertoire Sponsored by Travel Wire Inc.



The Jamaica College Old Boys Association ofNew York is pleased to honor three very accom-plished individuals who exemplify the standards ofleadership, selfless service and excellence, whichhave been the hallmarks of Jamaica College (JC)for over 200 years.

The Community Leadership Award celebratesand recognizes visionary leaders doing extraordi-nary work to strengthen their community. Thisyear’s recipient of the Community LeadershipAward is Ms. Sabrina HoSang, Chief OperatingOfficer of Caribbean Foods Delight.

The Outstanding Alumnus Award honors andrecognizes alumni who have demonstrated out-standing accomplishments in their profession anddeeply engaged in service to their community. Therecipients of this year’s Outstanding AlumnusAwards are:

• Dr. Kwame Dawes, Emmy award winning poet,author, editor, musician and professor.

• Mr. Wayne Seaton, Managing Director at WellsFargo Securities and captain of industry.

The Distinguished Alumnus Award:

The Distinguished Alumnus Award honors alumniwho have typified the Jamaica College tradition ofexcellence by their personal accomplishment, pro-fessional achievement, and exemplary contributionsto society. The awardee must have also performedarchetypal service for JC through cumulative con-tributions or by an extraordinary act or effort thatadvances the mission of the College. This year’srecipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award isentrepreneur and philanthropist, the Hon. R.Danny Williams.

PREVIOUS AWARDEES:

Illustrious Service Award:Mr. Ruel Taylor, Former Principal of JamaicaCollege (1971-1993) and Chemistry Teacher(1964-1971).

Community Leadership Award:

• Mr. Vincent HoSang, OD; Founder, Presidentand Chief Executive Officer of Royal CaribbeanBakery and Caribbean Food Delights. Mr.HoSang continues to be a perennial fixture andmajor benefactor in the Jamaican philanthropiccommunity. Mr. HoSang is the father of SabrinaHoSang recipient of this years’ CommunityLeadership Award.

Distinguished Alumnus Award:

• Jimmy Carnegie, renowned sports historian,author, educator, statistician, former Principal ofGC Foster College and Vice Principal of JamaicaCollege.

• Mr. Derryck Cox, OD, formerly Jamaica’s ChiefTrade Commissioner for North America andHead of the Jamaica’s Economic DevelopmentAgency, & Jamaica Promotions (JAMPRO). Mr.Cox is currently President of International TradePromotion, Ltd. and Senior Consultant for theCaribbean Export Development Agency and FFFAssociates, Inc.

• Mr. Noel Mignott, OD, formerly JamaicaTourist Board’s Deputy Director of Tourism, forNorth America with worldwide responsibility forthe development and management of the JTB’sadvertising and public relations strategies Mr.Mignott is currently the President and Chiefexecutive Officer of the Portfolio MarketingGroup (PM Group) in New York.

About the Awards



Sabrina Antoinette HoSang is the second of Vincent and Jeanette HoSang’s four children. She wasborn in NY and received her formative education at Immaculate Conception School before enter-ing Byram Hills High School in Armonk, New York. After graduating from Byram Hills, Sabrina

attended Villanova University in Pennsylvaniaand graduated with a B.Sc degree in BusinessAdministration and a Minor in ManagementInformation Systems. Strongly immersed in aJamaican upbringing by her native born par-ents, Sabrina holds her Jamaican roots close atheart.Working with her parents in the family busi-ness during the summer and winter breaksfrom school prepared Sabrina for the opportu-nity to join Caribbean Food Delights in May2001 as Director of Operations. She filled thatposition which she knew from the beginningheld many responsibilities. Upon joining thecompany, Sabrina introduced the idea of Mr.& Mrs. Patty as mascots and toys for the chil-dren in the community. She had also revivedthe Patty Eating Contest and created a neweating contest: Bun and Cheese.In February 2006, she was promoted to ChiefOperating Officer. As COO, Sabrina workswith and oversees departments such asProduction, Human Resources, QualityAssurance, Customer Service, Research andDevelopment, Corporate Sponsorship,Accounting, Sales, Marketing, PublicRelations, Food Safety & Security and other

entities of the Company. She is also Logistics Manager of JerkQ’zine Caribbean Grille, a new franchisewhich was launched in 2006. Sabrina has been trained and certified in food safety courses such asHACCP (Hazard Analysis, Critical Control Point), Advanced HACCP, Food Security, and a safetycourse in OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). She became a Notary Public inDecember 2008.Sabrina has received many accolades since she has started working in the family business. To name afew:

• Received Silver Award from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Roosevelt, NY on December 1 9,2009

• Recognized as Business Woman of the Year for outstanding achievements as entrepreneur andbusiness executive by Isaiah’s Temple of Mt. Hope SBC on August 22, 2008

• Received the Caribbean Gospel Music Outstanding Community Service Award for her contri-bution to the Caribbean community on June 1 , 2008

• Received Dynamic Woman Award by Assemblyman Nick Perry on May 22, 201 0

Ms. Sabrina Antoinette HoSangCommunity Leadership Award



• The Women Celebrating Women Award of Excellence from the Progressive Democrats Political Associationas a young corporate leader and a City Council Citation from former Council member, Yvette D. Clarke,now Congresswoman in March 2005.

• The Young, Gifted and Black Entrepreneur of the Year Award by The NetLinkz Group and recognized forher outstanding and dedicated service to the community by the Community Concerns Networks in 2006.

• The Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) inducted her as a 2007 BusinessVisionary.

• Certificate of Appreciation for her generous support of the troops and civilians serving in Afghanistan from2005-2006.

• In August 2007, the Consul General’s Award from the Jamaica Consulate for helping the less fortunate bothin New York and Jamaica.

• New York State Assembly Citation from Assemblyman Carl Heastie for community service in October 2007.• The Universal Peace Federation recognized her as an Ambassador for Peace in November 2007.• City of New York Citation from Marty Markowitz, President of the Borough of Brooklyn in December 2007

for being a model citizen and her continued support and aid of those in need.• A proclamation from New York State Senate, John L. Sampson in August 2008 for exceptional service to the

city and state of New York.• City Council of New York Proclamation from Kendall Stewart, Council Member of 45th district in

Brooklyn, New York for outstanding contribution to the city and community in December 2007.• The Independent United Order of Mechanics, Tuscan Chapter honored Sabrina in November 2008 for her

family’s vision and entrepreneurial spirit, her contribution to the American economy and people of theCaribbean Diaspora in the city of New York.

• Honored by Upscale Productions for tireless work, leadership and vision to the community in November2008.

Sabrina intends to do her part to keep the business her parents started when they used to work with hand machines.She feels that it is important to continue the family business so that her parents’ success could be carried on for gen-erations to come. She epitomizes the words of John Wooden who said, “Ability May Get You To The Top, But It TakesCharacter To Keep You There”. Sabrina hopes to inspire many young people to become leaders and entrepreneursbecause she believes the children are our future.



R.Danvers (Danny) Williams has had a distinguished career in the life insurance industry span-ning some 59 years. He is the Founder and Past President and Chief Executive Officer of Lifeof Jamaica Limited (now Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited), one of the largest life insurance compa-

nies in the West Indies.

His involvement with the industry dates back to 1 953, when at the age of 1 8 years 9 months he joinedNorth American Life Assurance Company, NALACO, as a salesman. Within 7 years, he was appointedBranch Manager for Jamaica and over the next decade, he guided the branch to the number one posi-tion in the company’s international network.

A dedicated professional committed to the develop-ment of his country and with a zest for challenges,Danny Williams molded the branch as the nucleus forLife of Jamaica Limited, which he founded in 1 970.He built the company that is today a respected anddynamic financial institu- tion.

R. Danvers Williams is noted for his considerableservice to the wider Jamaican community, whichhas earned him the national honours of Commander ofthe Order of Distinction (1 972) and the Order ofJamaica (1 993). He served the Government of Jamaicafor three years from 1 977 to 1 980 as a Senator, Ministerof State and Minister of Industry and Commercerespectively. He was in 2005 conferred with the degree ofDoctor of Laws (Hon) by the University ofTechnology. He has received many other honours andawards including the Observer LifetimeAchievement Award, induction into the Private SectorOrganisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Hall of Fame, theCaribbean Luminary Award by the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies(AFUWI), the Gleaner Honour Award for Voluntary Service, induction into the Caribbean Associationof Insurance and Financial Advisors (CARIFA) Hall of Fame, the YEA Entrepreneurial Spirit Award bythe Young Entrepreneurs Association and One of the 50 Living Legacy Award by the CaribbeanCommunity for Retired Persons (CCRP).

He was President of the Jamaica Association for the Deaf for 1 0 years and is still active in the work ofthat organization. He was also Chairman of the Jamaica Association for the Advancement of Literacy,JAMAL and the National Development Foundation of Jamaica as well as Vice President of the Jaycees ofJamaica and the West Indies Jaycees.

Mr. Williams currently serves on the boards of several major Jamaican companies, Organizations andFoundations, including Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited. He is the Chairman of the Alkali Group, RaversLimited, Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited, Virginia Dare (Jamaica) Limited, Irish Town, Redlight &Middleton Community Development Association Ltd., and the Jamaica College Foundation.

Hon. R. Danvers Williams, O.J., C.D., Hon. LL.D., J.P., CLU

Distinguished Alumnus Award



Wise Financial Thinking for Life

Sagicor Financial Corporation wishes to recognize and thank the Hon. R. Danvers “Danny” Williams for his decades of significant contributions to Jamaica and Sagicor Life Jamaica. Danny’s leadership and business acumen has had, and continues to have, a profound positive impact on his fellow countrymen and the Jamaican economy.

Congratulations on being selected as this year’s recipient of the prestigious Distinguished Alumnus Award. Well deserved.

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Emmy-winning Jamaican Poet & Writer�“The poet's language is vivid and visceral; his courage and honesty blaze a path in poem after poem. This is the music of survival

and transcendence. Indeed, the poetry of Kwame Dawes makes the impossible possible.”

—Martin Espada

“Kwame Dawes is one of the most important writers of his generation who has built a mighty and lasting body of work...” —

Elizabeth Alexander

“Majestic is the word that comes to mind reading the finely wrought poems of Kwame Dawes...a sublime talent is needed to fashion

poems of such capacious grace and energy." —Terrance Hayes

Born in Ghana in 1962, Kwame Dawes spent most of his childhood and early adult life in Jamaica. He isa writer of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and plays. As a poet, he is profoundly influenced by the rhythmsand textures of that lush place, citing in a recent interview his “spiritual, intellectual, and emotional

engagement with reggae music.” Indeed, his book Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius remains the most authoritativestudy of the lyrics of Bob Marley. Of his sixteen collections of poetry, his most recent titles include Wheels(2011); Back of Mount Peace (2009); Hope's Hospice (2009); Wisteria, finalist for the Patterson MemorialPrize; Impossible Flying (2007); and Gomer's Song (2007). Progeny of Air (Peepal Tree, 1994) was the winnerof the Forward Poetry Prize for Best First Collection in the UK. Other poetry collections include Resisting theAnomie (Goose Lane, 1995); Prophets (Peepal Tree, 1995); Jacko Jacobus, (Peepal Tree, 1996); and Requiem,(Peepal Tree. 1996), a suite of poems inspired by the illustrations of African American artist, Tom Feelings in hislandmark book The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo; and Shook Foil (Peepal Tree, 1998), a collection

Kwame Senu Neville DawesOutstanding Alumnus Award

© Rachel Eliza Griffiths



of reggae-inspired poems. His book, Midland, was awarded the Hollis Summers Poetry Prize by the OhioUniversity Press (2001). In 2001, Dawes was a winner of a Pushcart Prize for the best American poetry of 2001for his long poem, "Inheritance." Duppy Conqueror: New and Selected Poems will be released by CopperCanyon in early 2013.

He has published two novels: Bivouac (2009) and She's Gone (2007, Akashic Books), winner of the 2008Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Best First Novel. In 2007 he released A Far Cry From Plymouth Rock: APersonal Narrative (Peepal Tree Books). His essays have appeared in numerous journals including BombMagazine, The London Review of Books, Granta, Essence, World Literature Today, and Double Take Magazine.

Dawes is also the editor of three anthologies: Hold Me to an Island: Caribbean Place: An Anthology of Writing(with Jeremy Poynting, Caribbean Modern Classics, Peepal Tree Press, 2012), Home is Where: An Anthology ofAfrican American Poetry from the Carolinas (Hub City, 2011), and Red: Contemporary Black Poetry (PeepalTree Press, 2010).

In September 2009, Dawes won an Emmy for LiveHopeLove.com, an interactive site based on Kwame Dawes'sPulitzer Center project, HOPE: Living and loving with AIDS in Jamaica. It has won other accolades including aPeople's Voice Webby Award, and was the inspiration for the music/spoken word performance Wisteria &HOPE which premiered at the National Black Theatre Festival in North Carolina. In 2011, Dawes reported onHIV AIDS after the earthquake in Haiti and his poems, blogs, articles, and documentary work were a key partof the post-earthquake Haiti reporting by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting that won the National PressClub Joan Friedenberg Award for Online Journalism and most recently, the Poets and Writers Barnes andNobles Writers for Writers Award.

Dawes is an actor, playwright, and producer, an accomplished storyteller, broadcaster, and was the lead singer inUjamaa, a reggae band. To date, he has seen produced fifteen of his plays; and he has acted in, directed or pro-duced several of these productions, most recently a production of his musical, One Love, at the LyricHammersmith in London. Commissioned by Talawa, Britian's leading black theatre company, and inspired byRogert Mais' classic novel Brotherman, One Love takes us to the heart of the Jamaican soul, as actors, dancers,singers, life musicians, and a DJ draw on influences such as Bob Marley and Lee "Scratch" Perry to tell thispowerful parable of desire and denial. Through the years, Dawes has collaborated with musicians and artists tocreate a dynamic series of performances based on his poetry that have proven to be some of the most com-pelling and challenging presentations of poetry being performed today. Wisteria is a multimedia performancewith composer Kevin Simmonds, who set the poems from Dawes’ book of the same name, to music. The resultis an evening length performance that explores the life of women who lived through the Jim Crow period inSumter, SC.

Until July 2011, Dawes was Distinguished Poet in Residence, Louis Frye Scudder Professor of Liberal Arts andfounder, and executive director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative. He was the director of the University ofSouth Carolina Arts Institute and is the programming director of the Calabash International Literary Festival,which takes place in Jamaica in May of each year. Dawes is currently the Glenna Luschei Editor of PrairieSchooner at the University of Nebraska, where he is a Chancellor's Professor of English, a faculty member ofCave Canem, and a teacher in the Pacific MFA Program in Oregon.

Kwame Dawes was educated at Jamaica College, and received his BA (Honors) at the University of the WestIndies, Mona, and his Ph.D. at the University of New Brunswick in Canada.

Dawes is a regular blogger for the Poetry Foundation; his blogs can be read at www.poetryfoundation.org. Hisofficial website is @www.kwamedawes.com.

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Wayne Seaton is a Managing Directorand head of Sustainable PublicInfrastructure within Public Finance at

Wells Fargo Securities. He has more than 1 8years of experience assisting major municipalissuers with infrastructure financings and hasserved as a lead banker for more than $1 5 bil-lion in transactions, including some of thelargest and most com-plex capital programs inthe nation.

Mr. Seaton’s team atWells Fargo has five pro-fessionals with over 60years of combined pub-lic finance experienceand is the first formal-ized unit of its kindwithin the investmentbanking public financeindustry. The group hasa nationwide mandateto assist municipalitieswith financing projectsdesigned to use energymore efficiently, includ-ing renewable technolo-gies such as solar orwind. Mr. Seaton hasbeen at the forefront ofdeveloping and imple-menting financing solutions utilizing municipalsale-leaseback retrofits, Qualified EnergyConservation Bonds and New Clean RenewableEnergy Bonds. He recently was lead banker foran innovative financing for Morris CountyImprovement Authority that to date is thelargest bond offering for a municipal distributedgeneration solar project in the State of NewJersey. In his career, Mr. Seaton has served as leadbanker to major clients such as the District of

Columbia Water and Sewer Authority,Dormitory Authority of the State of New York,City of Atlanta, City of New York, City of St.Louis and State of Connecticut.

Prior to joining Wells Fargo Securities, Mr.Seaton was head of Public Finance for a bou-tique investment banking firm. He is a regis-

tered general securitiesprincipal and municipalsecurities principal andholds his Series 7, 24,53, and 63 classifica-tions.

He is actively involvedwith the U.S.EnvironmentalProtection Agency’s(EPA) EnvironmentalFinancial AdvisoryBoard, MunicipalForum of New York,National Association ofSecurities Professionals,and the SecuritiesIndustry and FinancialMarkets Association(SIFMA).

Mr. Seaton obtained anA.B. degree in

Sociology from Harvard University inCambridge, Mass., and an M.B.A in financeand international business from ColumbiaBusiness School in New York.

He is also an alumnus of Jamaica College,where he received his O’Levels and CXC certifi-cations.

Mr. Wayne Andrew SeatonOutstanding Alumnus Award



Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporte

This was the third time JC was entering the competition, held on March 1 6 and 1 7 at the JacobJavits Convention Centre in Manhattan, New York. Last year, the team finished 1 2th. JC was theonly representative from outside the US.

"It definitely feels good because, after putting in all that hard work, you find you have something toshow for it," said a beaming Gavin Samuels, captain of the team.The competition was divided into two divisions of 36 teams each. Two-team alliances work together toscore

points and win matches. The JC team's alliances won four of the five matches in the initial round, placingeighth. One of the top four teams picked them to be their partner in the semi-final, which they won, pro-pelling them to the division finals. They, however, lost by three points. JC finished second in its divisionand third in the overall competition. Samuels said the key this year was coordination.

"This year, by far, we definitely worked better as a team. For example, something was left behind and theway the team came together to ensure it reached before the competition was marvellous," he said. GeorgiaRudolph, one of the three teachers who accompanied the 1 2 boys, was proud of the result.

"Working within the time constraints ... the boys have done extremely well," she said. "They went and sawother robots that they thought would beat them, but we got them calm and they just went out there andreally made us proud." She noted that the US teams had already gone through two rounds of competi-tion, so they lacked experience. A lack of networking with other teams before the competition is anotherarea she feels they can improve on.

"We have set up a Facebook page and we'll be liaising with other teams for next year," she said. They willalso be entering the junior competition, the First Lego League (FLL), next year."We saw them make different attachments for their robots, so we need to work on that for FLL. It lookeda little easy, so I think we can win," said junior member Sage Michael Brown. JC will also be returning 1 0members of the team for next year, increasing the hope that they will go a step further next time. Rudolphsaid the team will continue working, honing the skills of the younger boys.

"Even though everybody was not involved in the actual making of the competition robot, everyone willget their opportunity to explore." But what about 'Griffin', the robot they used this year? Well, accordingto Ricardo Anderson, another faculty team member, they have plans for him. There's a WorldSkillsChallenge they're thinking about entering plus there's a 'fun project' of marking out the lines on theschool's football field.

"We have to keep it (the interest) going for the year so that, when the competition comes around again inJanuary, we'll be ready. We can't go anywhere but up, so the expectations are now very high." He said he

JC's Golden Griffins Third In Tech ChallengePublished: Friday | March 23, 201 2



expected a "flood of boys" will want to be part ofthe programme now, based on the feedback theyhave been receiving.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition ofScience and Technology) was founded in 1 989 byAmerican inventor Dean Kamen to assist young

people in discovering the excitement and rewardsof science and technology.

[email protected]�

Article republished with permission from the GleanerCompany Limited. All Rights Reserved

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The Jamaica College (JC) robotics team, the Golden Griffins, and their teachers, show off their medals after placingthird overall in the FIRST Tech challenge robotics competition in New York last week. JC was the only team fromoutside the United States of America to enter the competition. - Ian Allen/Photographer



The Digital Yard Innovation Project presents a vision of a future Jamaica where our children have developed aculture of fascination for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The execution model relieson cooperation between the tertiary, secondary and primary sectors allied with public/private partnerships.JCOBA-NY is a founding partner in the Project.

To jump-start the capacity building process, in 2009-2011 Digital Yard team member Erica Simmons arrangedthe donation of US$150m in Siemens Computer Aided Design and Engineering software to the University ofTechnology and Northern Caribbean University. This is the largest ever donation to Jamaica’s education system.The goal is to enable proficiency in this cutting edge technology by students throughout the system.

The Digital Yard Tech Challenge, our robotics competition, will be operated and hosted by UTech, ourAcademic Partner. This is the first of a series of programs combining STEM skills and competition. The TechChallenge will utilize robots that school children design, build and program. The mission is to get children asexcited about science and technology as they are about sports.

The successful JC robotics program is the national model on which the Tech Challenge is designed. Many sec-ondary schools have indicated excitement about participating and their orientation in how to operate a roboticsclub and effectively compete is underway. Students from the UTech Faculty of Engineering and Computing areconducting the orientation with each school assigned a tech mentor.

Digital Yard RoboticsEngineering a New Jamaica – One School at a Time



Why Robotics? Robotics requires many disciplines that areintegral to the development of valuable technical skills:• Cooperative Teamwork • Math & Software Proficiency• Computer Programming • Construction Design• Mechanical Engineering • Electrical Engineering• Electronic Engineering • Research• Problem Solving • Critical ThinkingThese skills are learned by students participating in robotics while they are experiencing the tremendous funand excitement of creating intelligent machines - to compete against other students and rival schools.

Target Group:• Secondary School studentsWhat• Robotics Competition with mentoring fromUTECH Faculty of Engineering students

Goal:• Design and build of robot to enter the March2013 Robotics Competition and annually thereafter

Success Factor:• Collaborative design and build of Robots



EXPECTED OUTCOMESResearch in the United States indicates the following out-comes for students participating in Digital Yard TechChallenge type robotics competitions compared to a controlgroup of academically similar students not involved inrobotics. Robotics students are: • More than 3 times as likely to major in engineering in

college• Roughly 10 times as likely to have had an apprentice-

ship or internship job in their freshman year• Significantly more likely to expect to achieve a post-

graduate degree.• More than twice as likely to expect to pursue a career in science and technology• Nearly 4 times as likely to expect to pursue a career specifically in engineering• More than twice as likely to volunteer in their communities

SUCCESS METRICS• Increased numbers of students choosing science, technology and engineering studies and careers• Businesses started or enhanced by our students• Siemens Computer Aided Design Industry certification of our students. • Raising of the technical skill level of youth motivated by our programs. • Increased levels of productivity and wealth generation.

To achieve these nation-building goals Digital Yard is actively seeking new partnerships with schools, alumniassociations, not-for-profits, foundations, industry and government. The Digital Yard Foundation based inJamaica is in formation for an expected September 2012 start up. For more information on Digital Yard programs and how you can assist please email: [email protected]



Raymond Osbourne Wolfe was appointed Ambassador of Jamaica and Permanent Representative

to the United Nations on June 1 3, 2006. Prior to his appointment, since 2003, Wolfe was

Under-Secretary for Multilateral Affairs at his country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign

Trade from 2003 until his appointment. From 1 998 to 2003, he was Jamaica’s High Commissioner to

Canada, and for several years before that he held consecu-

tive senior positions in the Foreign Ministry, including as

Director of the European Affairs Department and Director

of the Africa, Asia and Pacific Affairs Department.

Wolfe joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in July 1 973. In

is early diplomatic career; he was posted in the Union of

Soviet Socialist Republics (1 977-1 981 ), at the United Nations

Headquarters in New York (1 984-1 990), in Nigeria (1 990-

1 992) and in Japan (1 992-1 994).

In 1 973 he graduated from the University of the West Indies with a Bachelor of Science in International

Relations with a focus on comparative politics, international politics, international economic relations,

government and politics of the West Indies. He also holds a diploma in international relations from the

Foreign Service Officers’ Training Course in Canberra, Australia, and has completed a Commonwealth

Executive Programme in public management at the Executive Education Centre of the Schulich School

of Business at York University, Toronto, Canada.

Ambassador Wolfe is married to and has two children.

His Excellency Raymond Osbourne WolfeOld Boy Spotlight



A Complex And Sincere Gratitude: A Product Of Jamaica College Reflects

By Kwame Dawes

I meet many people who remember their high school years as some of the most painful and difficult times in theirlives. Many do not want to remember those years. They hated school and they hate the memory of that time. Theywere happy to graduate, and even now, when they see friends from their old school days, they feel nothing but dis-comfort and revulsion.

The curious thing is that I understand those feelings. I do because despite the fact that my seven years at JamaicaCollege leave me with a good and powerful sense of the value of the experiences I had there, I know many of myfriends and schoolmates who harbor less than warm feelings about the College, for good reasons.

For all the benefits of being at JC, there were problems, problems of class, of poor teaching, of unfairness, and prob-lems that came from the larger problems of Jamaican society. There was abuse, and there were things in retrospectthat strike me as almost criminal—things that were allowed. You will all recall that bullying, that thing weeuphemistically called “singing” was enshrined in our life as students. People suffered from these things. The homo-phobia that we are known for (even if not properly understood) existed at JC—boys were not just teased, but bulliedand beaten because they were either suspected to be gay or were actually gay.

These realities existed. School was sometimes hard academically, challenging, even. Sometimes we had teachers whodid not have much of a clue of what they were doing. Very often the best teachers were never assigned to the loweracademic streams. Our system of determining one’s professional future at age fourteen was in so many ways a dam-aging and misguided practice. Merely because of one term of poor grades in third form, it was concluded that I couldnever have an occupation in the sciences.

While I had no great regrets about this, I know so many of my friends who were pushed into fields that they reallywere not suited for, nor did they have the inclination or genuine desire to pursue, nor the maturity to decide.

My point is, as I think of my years at Jamaica College, the sense of goodwill, appreciation and warm regard that Ifeel does not emerge out of rank idealism or out of a desire to sugar coat those things that were negative. On thecontrary, I have strong memories of JC, some more positive than others, but my overwhelming sense is that I wouldnot trade that period for anything else.

I see those years as constituting an important foundation for my future life. Perhaps there were specific things thatmade being a boy at JC such a positive time for me. And for me this is quite personal. Being an artist and havingthe chance to take art classes and to spend hours outside drawing and painting, and being affirmed for the work Idid, made me want to go to school in the morning.

Cricket was everything to me for a long time. I wanted to play, I learnt how to deal with almost an entire season ofmaking ducks and still recover years after to be selected for the National Youth Trials.

For all its problems and peculiarities, my seven years as a cadet taught me a great deal about leadership, about resist-ing group speak and the madness of peer pressure, and about laughing at the cruelties we all inflicted on each other.I stayed a cadet because I was promoted through the ranks.

I enjoyed my academic experience at JC. I enjoyed the business of learning things I did not know. I enjoyed whatmany of the best teachers did in making me understand the history of Europe and the history of the West Indies; Ienjoyed studying West Indian literature and Shakespeare; and when I became a sixth former, I enjoyed the privilegesthat came with being a leader in the school.

We laughed a lot as boys. We laughed at each other, we teased, we gave each other nicknames, and we laughed a lot.Belly hurting laughter. Tear jerking laughter. Laughter that made us run around holding our sides, trying to shakeoff the mirth.

The humor was sometimes brilliant. Describing a fellow cricketer’s unfortunately short pants, as being “short of alength a rising”, was genius banter, horrendous and merciless teasing and the source for much laughter. Calling aman “Last Night” or “Tippa” or calling a teacher “Perch” or “Bushy” was puerile, cruel, and yet imag-

Continue on page 41

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Conversation with KwameJCOBA: Kwame, congratulations on being honoredby your peers as an Outstanding Alumnus ofJamaica College (JC). This is a well-deserved recog-nition. What does this award mean to you?KWAME: It is an odd award because in many ways Iregard the guys I went to JC with as a remarkablegroup of accomplished individuals, and so for peers tosingle me out feels like being selected for the first coltseleven or even to captain Musgrave's cricket team. Inother words, it is an honor, and one that I will cherishgreatly.

JCOBA: What are some of your fondest memoriesof JC?KWAME: Laughter. A lot of laughter!The jokes, the practical ones and thoseof wit; the legends, invented and real;the tragic sadness of losing theManning Cup finals, and the subse-quent elation of winning the ManningCup finals the next year; watchingShenk (Luke Whitney) living up to hisnickname "The God" on the field;nicknames; amazing teachers and hor-rendous teachers; traditions, the laud-able and the ridiculous; and what wasobviously a sound and exemplary edu-cation. I liked going to school. I real-ly did. That says something.

JCOBA: What was your nickname at JC and howdid it come about?KWAME: Because my name is Kwame, it seemedalmost redundant to give me a nickname. For a longtime, I was called Lickle Kojo because of my olderbrother Kojo who was at JC before me. Sometime infifth form, I think, one of my schoolmates (RobertDavis aka "Bird" for a really hilarious reason) thoughtit inappropriate for me not to have a nickname, so I gottagged with the rather unimaginative name "KunjuMurunju" -- a rather crude (though I am sure it waslovingly meant) allusion to my Africanness. But most-ly, it was Dawes. Just plain old Dawes!

JCOBA: Tell us about a time when you got intosome real trouble at JC and the resultant conse-quence(s)?KWAME: Our fifth form French class was notextremely welcoming to a young recent graduate ofUWI, Ms. Brown, who was given the task to teach ushow to speak and write French. Things got completelyout of hand one day and she fled to the Vice Principal's

office in tears. Mr. Hazle rounded us up, and quitegenerously, I think, asked each of us how many lasheswe thought we deserved for this behavior. My col-leagues calculated that Mr. Hazle was going to cane usanyway, and so they began to give their numbers. Ifthe number seemed especially low to Mr Hazle, hewould bark out in disbelief until the number went up.This was fifth form, and I figured that through thegenius of my rhetoric I had escaped multiple lashingsand I was not about to destroy my record at this stagein my school career. So when it came around to me, Isimply said, "None, sir." And when Mr. Hazle barked,"What?", I repeated, "None, sir." For you see, I real-ized that without a pleas of not-guilty, I would not be

able to make a case for myself, and Ithought this type of kangaroo justicethat Mr. Hazle was carrying wasunfair. Predictably, he asked me why.That was his mistake. I proceeded tospeak with the most profound andinsightful empathy for Ms. Brown,that at one point I heard her delicatevoice offer, "Dawes was not so bad,Mr. Hazle, he really wasn't." Whetherher serving as witness on my behalfwas prompted by her growing squeam-ish at the carnage that was about to

take place, or whether she was simply so impressedwith my capacity to understand and appreciate whyshe would flee to the vice principal's office in tears, Iwill never know. What I do know is that Mr Hazle,clearly impressed by my gumption, and a little impa-tient with my verbosity simple sent me back to theclassroom. The other lads, as far as I know, got caned.Many will deny the veracity of this story, but they areall liars, everyone of them.

JCOBA: Do you have any confessions to makeabout a prank you pulled or any mischievous actsthat you got away with while at JC?KWAME: Well, on the matter of Ms. Brown, I confess,I was not as innocent as I managed to convince her Iwas.

JCOBA: Who was your favorite teacher and why?KWAME: There were quite a few, actually. Mrs.Sobers for her gumption, her no-nonsense manner andher intense passion for both Maths and History. Shewas amazing. Ms. Roper (Georgette), largely becauseof what she looked like (that afro was startling), butmostly because she made me love Spanish, a passion

© Rachel Eliza Griffiths



that has not left me. Mrs. Scarlett who was for a longtime my art teacher, who was so encouraging. She wasso cool, so much above the fray and she was good. HadI known her brother was Michael Holding at the time,I would have built a shrine for her. Mr. Bob-Semple,with his wonderfully moderated benign neglect for us,and his capacity to make the love of literature okay fora bunch of boys in sixth form, is probably most respon-sible for my career as an academic and a writer. Iremain quite grateful to him for bringing in that bookof photographs illustratingGerard Manley Hopkins'poetry just when we began todespair of sprung rhythm.There were others, Mr. Mills,Dennis Scott, and on and on.We had good teachers. And ifthey were not good, theywere at least entertaining.

JCOBA: What extra-curricular activities were youinvolved in?KWAME: I was a cadet for six years. I played cricketat all levels and even coached while still at JC. I fooledaround with drama. I was a chartered non-playingmember of S.O.R.R.O.W. And for quite a few yearswhile I was not a member of Inter Schools Christianfellowship, I was quite clearly the target of their prose-lytizing efforts—I almost felt a part of them. I becamea committed Christian on the quiet in sixth form. Ithink it shocked many of them.

JCOBA: How has JC influenced your career pathand your life in general? KWAME: I learnt a great deal about leadership at JCboth by watching other boys lead and learning the pol-itics of leadership from these boys. I also learned tolead by leading. I learnt what my weaknesses are as aleader, but I also learned what my strengths are. JChad challenges, and it would have been easy to blamethe school for some of the things we did not have ordo, but we were surrounded by people who still hadthe notion that teacher was a noble thing. JC has aproud history of great people who attended that

school. It was a place of elitism and no small amountof racism during much of its history, but it was a place,when I was there, that was challenging those normsand values. In the seventies, as Jamaica was changing,and coming to an understanding of its history, so wasJC. I am glad to have been a part of that.

JCOBA: How did you discover your passion forwriting?KWAME: I discovered writing by reading. I foundpleasure in reading. Intellectual pleasure, the vicarious

pleasure of entering someoneelse's imagination, and thepleasure of transportation;the capacity to enter anotherworld far outside of my own.I simply wanted to be a partof making that pleasure hap-pen for others. But I was

writing letters, lots of letters to penpals for much of myteen years. I was using language to persuade, to seduce,to move. I learned early on that language was power-ful, and so to move from there to writing only madesense.

JCOBA: What advice or words of wisdom do youhave for the students at JC today?KWAME: My advice would be the same as I wouldgive to any youngster who is entering that age of dis-covery that marked the career of a JC boy. Try things.Read. Read again and again! Treat people right. Begenerous. Remember that you are following decadesand decades of traditions and those traditions exist fora reason. Don't wait for others to make things happenif you think they should happen. You are it. Finally,don't lock yourself in a box that others create for you -- you have choices, you can redefine yourself. Stayloose and keep your eyes open.

JCOBA: Thanks Kwame for this vividly nostalgicreflection of your days at JC and for your wisewords of advice for the current cohort of young-sters. Fervet.

“JC taught me how to think, how toargue, how to make a good joke of sophis-tication and wit, and how to fight backeither with fists, stones, and if those were

not prudent, with the tongue.”

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Conversation with WayneJCOBA: Wayne, congratulations on being hon-ored by your peers as an Outstanding Alumnusof Jamaica College (JC). This is a well-deservedrecognition. What does this award mean to you?WAYNE: Jamaica College has a rich tradition ofexcellence and many great past students who havebecome leaders in business, diplomacy, law, poli-tics, medicine, music, science, the arts – the listgoes on and on. Being recognized as an outstand-ing alumnus is a great honor. This award is verymeaningful to me.

JCOBA: What are some of your fondest memo-ries of JC?WAYNE: Assembly; field trips; playing football(usually in a pick-up scrimmage) three to fourtimes a day; playing piano at my class graduationceremony; saying the school prayer; the house sys-tem for its camaraderie, competitiveness and tradi-tion; wearing the distinctive blue uniform.

JCOBA: What was your nickname at JC andhow did it come about?WAYNE: My nickname was “Pee Wee”. As a firstformer, I think I was about four feet, eight inchestall. At the time I believe I was the second short-est student in the entire school and certainly theone who weighed the least. All of my classmatesseemed to experience growth spurts before I did.Eventually I grew to the point where I was nolonger one of the shortest, but in true JamaicaCollege fashion, the nickname stuck.

JCOBA: Tell us about a timewhen you got into some realtrouble at JC and the resultantconsequence(s)?WAYNE: I really did not get intoserious trouble but I remembergetting caught once trying to cutafternoon classes so I could see aBruce Lee matinee at CaribTheatre. The trick was to walkthrough the gates at lunchtimeand pretend you were goingdown the street to buy lunch.When the bus came, you wouldjump on the bus and be homefree. I forgot how I got caught,but the end result for me wasDetention (I had to stay after

school under the supervision of a teacher). I wasembarrassed because my mother was Head of theScience Department and my father had taughtReligious Education at the school for a number ofyears. I did not want them to find out.

JCOBA: Do you have any confessions to makeabout a prank you pulled or any mischievousacts that you got away with while at JC?WAYNE: I think once in Chemistry class a groupof us dropped some sulfuric acid down the drainbefore we left the lab for the evening…but thenagain, I am not confessing to anything

JCOBA: Who was your favorite teacher andwhy?WAYNE: Mr. Gayle, who taught ReligiousEducation to us in first form. He was passionateabout a subject that most of us really did not careabout, and was the first teacher I had that effec-tively used imagery to make his students visualizeconcepts. I wish I still had some of the pictureshe had me draw to depict Bible stories…the mem-ories will have to suffice.

JCOBA: What extra-curricularactivities were you involved in?WAYNE: Music (piano & violin);intramural sports with extremelylimited success.

JCOBA: How has JC influencedyour career path and your life ingeneral? WAYNE: When I was at JC wealways believed we were the besthigh school in the country.While some of us were not thebest students, in general, each ofus believed we were the best atsomething. Developing this levelof self-confidence as a JC boy hasenabled me to meet challenges in

“When I was at JC we always believed we werethe best high school in the country. While someof us were not the best students, in general, eachof us believed we were the best at something.Developing this level of self-confidence as a JCboy has enabled me to meet challenges in bothmy career and life.”



both my career and life.

JCOBA: What advice or words of wisdom doyou have for the students at JC today?WAYNE: Realize that your teachers care aboutpreparing young men to be tomorrow’s leaders.Take the time to get to know your classmates andlearn from them - learning does not only come

from textbooks. Respect the rich history and tra-ditions of the school and seize the responsibilityyou have to carry the torch for those who comeafter you.

JCOBA: Thanks Wayne for sharing your memo-ries of JC and for being an inspiration to us all.We are very proud of you. Fervet!

inative and funny.

There were the triumphs—consuming triumphs that taught me what pure joy was, what victory was—our success atSchool’s Challenge, the year we won Manning Cup, the year we went to the Sunlight Cup Finals, the year Dave Hazlewon a gold medal for class one hurdles at Champs, the goal that Shenk, the great Luke Whitney scored from the halfline—those were beautiful defining experiences.

And there were heartbreaks that taught us how to lose—perhaps for some of us, taught us too well how to cope withlosing. When we lost the Manning Cup finals in 1975, or when we found ourselves for years incapable of replicat-ing the sporting prowess of the old Jamaica College; or when we lost cricket matches across the island, and foundways to laugh at ourselves on the bus back home, we learnt how to lose.

These ideas may seem completely random. They clearly represent elements of school life that may have kept me com-ing to school with pleasure and positive anticipation. And even though some of the most defining wounds in my lifehappened at JC, for instance, I have learned that despite what seem like random matters, that what makes JamaicaCollege so important to me is that it was a school with a long and illustrious tradition. It was school that I could sayI was proud of. It was a school that had a history that we knew helped us to see ourselves as having a place in thefabric of Jamaican society.

It is impossible to calculate the extent to which that sense of being from a school that has such a long tradition inJamaican society, even when it is a school that may have had its challenges and problems, but I have a strong sensethat the benefits of that tradition have been important to the lives of so many JC men.

In the 1970s, the vestiges of the old elite school still existed, but the school was changing. The new mandate of freeeducation was changing the demographics of the College, and in so doing was making the school begin to assumeresponsibility for the wider population of Jamaican society. To do that, the school had to change, and we saw theearly days of those changing pains. They were changes that I believe have made the school a stronger school. Andanyway, the changes were necessary.

I always dreamed that I would stay deeply involved with JC during my adulthood. For years after graduation Icoached the Sunlight team and I even taught part-time at the school. I expected to play in the Old Boy cricket gamesin my thirties and forties, but those years passed while I was living in the US.

I have missed a great deal of what it means to be a JC Old Boy—at least in the way that I experienced most Old Boyswhile I was student. But I hope that in another way, the tradition I remember of knowing the names of some of thefamous JC Old Boys, and the way that knowledge make me feel proud and a part of a great tradition, and the waythat knowledge inspired me to want to be successful as well, operates for those boys who are at JC now when theylearn of me and the work that I have done over the years. I am as interested in being a JC Old Boy who has donegood as I am being the source of pride for my family and my country.

When people ask me why I am a writer, I find myself returning to JC, to my sixth form years, to my teachers, to thebooks I read in the library, to explain why I did become a writer.

I am grateful for the models of heroism, skill, faith, manhood, that other boys gave to me at JC. I am proud to bea JC man. Proud and deeply grateful for what that has meant to my life.

“A Complex And Sincere Gratitude: A Product Of Jamaica College Reflects” Continue from page 30

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Best Wishes

from

Ken Williams CEO, and Staff

of

CVM Radio-HOT 102 FM Jamaica...

Working toward a stronger association between Jamaican Media & the Diaspora



Congratulations to the Jamaica College Old Boys Association of New York

on the occasion of its 20th Anniversary and to all the Honorees.

Sabrina Hosang - Community Award

Hon. R. Danny Williams - Distinguished Alumnus

Wayne Seaton - Outstanding Alumnus

Kwame Dawes - Outstanding Alumnus

Michael Flanigan, Class of ‘71

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jcoba-ny 20th anniversary souvenir journal

Documents

c e t o j c

r s o f s e r

o years

friends ofjamaica college

kwame dawes host

dwight williams president

excellency raymond

kwame dawesawards ceremonyhost