Caribbean-Americans for Community Involvement (CAFCI) held its 24th annual Student Assistance Awards Ceremony on Saturday, May 14 at the original Wellington Mall.
As part of CAFCI’s mission, the organization is committed to empowering youth through providing access to educational opportunities. Over the past 24 years, CAFCI has given a total of $77,000. This year, the Student Assistance Awards Committee presented 21 students with $500 to $1,000 each. The committee includes co-chairs Junette Powell and Nadine White-Boyd, and committee members Lori Cabrera, Leonie Escoffery, Clover Henry Gilroy, Alpha McDonald and Dr. Cedric Lynch.
Dignitaries speaking at the event included Royal Palm Beach Mayor Fred Pinto and School Board Member Marcia Andrews. They gave messages of support and encouragement to the students.
The keynote speaker was attorney A. Wayne Gill of the Gill Law Firm. He emphasized that technology has truly made the world a global marketplace. Young people must become conscious of the fact that their competition will come from every corner of the Earth, he said. In order to maintain academic and professional excellence, they will have to work harder and smarter than the competition. Gill urged the students to embrace the challenge of being the future leaders and trailblazers of a rapidly changing world.
The 2016 CAFCI student assistance award recipients are: Chantal Anderson, Demi-Anne Barnett, Deborah Colimon, Ivanhoe Cowans, Dominique Dorce, D’Andre Dunkley, Elise Elizondo, Nicholas Fah-Sang, Alexus Foster, Devounte Ho-Hing, Nheissa Isidor, Mailuce Louidor, Tristan Magloire, Bryana Manasse, Romainska Moise, Janice Morgan, Loveyou Nicolas, Ijahala Pottinger, Dylan Santalo, Ashley Wilson and Alexandra Woodside.
The highlight of the evening was when the awardees were called to the stage to receive their certificates of excellence and their award. Each student thanked family members and mentors who inspired them to believe in themselves and to strive for excellence.
Photos by Sergio Aguilar
