From all appearances, Careers Day 2014, a significant event in the life of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, was by far one of the most well-organised and well-presented educational fairs in Anguilla.
The main person behind the event, Mrs Anita Ruan, Careers Coordinator in the Department of Education, modestly declined to accept any personal commendation for its success, pointing to the involvement of a number of other persons. “I think the presenters have gone out of their way to really make their booths attractive so that students can come and talk with them,” she told The Anguillian at the Rodney MacArthur Rey Auditorium. “I am really thankful to the representatives of the public and private sectors for doing a lot more in their presentations. It has been a definite improvement and even, in terms of the arrangement of the hall, I had a committee that worked with me so I was not working alone. I wish to say a big thank you to Damian “Vonnie” Harrigan, Rawle Hazell, Nigel Connor, Andre Samuel, Kaseem Forde and Eldon Webster for working with me and laying out the auditorium.”
Mrs Ruan was asked to comment on the aim of Careers Day. “The overall objective is to inform students about various career options that are available to them, so that they can make informed choices when deciding on what career area they would like to go into,” she replied. “Sometimes some of us get into careers that we have no information about, but the more information you have, the better you can make an informed choice. There are over forty careers represented here. I think it is very important for our young people to be exposed to as many career options as possible. I love my job, I love young people, and I want to see them well-informed so that they can make decisions for the rest of their lives.”
Among the participants from the public sector were Customs and Immigration; the Anguilla Fire and Rescue Services; the Departments of Probation, Agriculture, Lands and Surveys, Information and Broadcasting, Social Development and Youth and Culture; the Anguilla Community College and the Health Authority. Participation from the private sector included the CuisinArt Golf Resort and Spa; Caribbean Commercial Bank; Anguilla Finance; the Anguilla Electricity Company; the Anguilla Bar Association; The Anguillian newspaper; the Anguilla Incubator .ai – an Intellectual Property company involving Mr. Lynwood Bell and students at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School; the Anguilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry; BDO; and National Commercial Data Services.