Northern Caribbean University's New York alumni chapter marks 68 years with gala
The Jamaican university's chapter honoured four alumni in Westbury, Long Island, under the theme 'Honoring Our Past, Building Our Future'.
NEW YORK, United States. The Northern Caribbean University (NCU) Alumni Association, New York Chapter, honoured four alumni at its 68th anniversary gala on Sunday, July 26, at Verdi's of Westbury, Long Island.
NCU is a private liberal arts institution in Jamaica, owned and operated by the Jamaica Union Conference and the Atlantic Caribbean Union Mission of Seventh-day Adventists. Its main campus is two miles south of Mandeville, in Manchester, with regional campuses in Kingston, Montego Bay and St Ann.
The honourees
Courtney Pennicooke, a 1982 graduate of West Indies College, as NCU was then known, received the Lifetime Service Award. The other honourees were Camesha Miller, who holds degrees in counselling and dietetics; Benita Exalus, a 2011 primary teacher education graduate; and Harold Clayton, president of NCU Alumni Federation International and a member of the NCU Board of Governors.
"We are deeply humbled and truly honoured to receive this recognition," Miller said on behalf of the honourees. "This is not simply a celebration of past accomplishments but a call to continue serving with integrity, humility and purpose."
Exalus, born in the Bahamas to Haitian parents, received the President's Excellence Award. "Tears of joy filled my eyes as I reflected on God's faithfulness throughout my journey," she told Caribbean Life.
'Ambassadors of NCU's mission'
Chapter president Dr. Michael H. Harvey, who is Jamaican-born, told alumni: "You are the ambassadors of NCU's mission. You are the evidence of its impact."
NCU Director of Alumni Relations Danieto H. Murray said the chapter had stood for nearly seven decades "as a shining example of loyalty, leadership, and generosity".
Interim president Dr. Vivienne L. Quarrie said the chapter had supported institutional development and provided scholarships to students "whose aspirations might otherwise have remained unfulfilled".
Featured address
Pastor Jermaine Johnson, an NCU alumnus and valedictorian, president of the North Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and a former president of Jamaica's National Youth Council, served as master of ceremonies and gave the featured address.
"I'm the product of the generosity of individuals," he said. "We must be brave for those potential scholars."
Cheyenne Welch, Pastor Jovan Whyte and Brian Hurst provided music.
