The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

THIS July 1, a one-day student success seminar will promote the successful completion of high school and the immediate transition to college, all spearheaded by Bahamian entrepreneur Monique Hinsey.

The seminar will take place at the Aquinas College, from 9am to 3pm, for students entering the ninth grade. Apart from Monique, presenters will include college counsellor and career specialist Teorah Lowe, and counsellor and motivational coach Samantha Wells.

With her experience in the field of education spanning over 21 years, Monique said up until this day she still enjoys watching the progression, witnessing the results, and the transformation of her students.

Monique began as an educator and guidance counsellor in the government school system before transferring into the private school sector, and eventually into the non-profit arm of educational development, having most recently served as the director of educational programmes at the Lyford Cay Foundation.

Now, as the founder of Global College Access and Mission: College Bound, she specialises in college readiness and career consulting. She told Tribune Woman that she truly feels as if her life has come full circle.

“I spent most of the fall 2014 making rounds in various private high schools on the island of New Providence. We went into several high schools, including Queen’s College and Aquinas, and facilitated a customised college prep boot camp specifically for the 10th to 12th grade students of those schools,” said Monique.

From then up until several weeks ago, Monique has tenaciously worked on her newest project, which is the completion of a college resource planner exclusively for high school students. The book aims to be a handy, interactive resource guide to help parents and students navigate the journey to college. It includes everything from the importance of a college education to going out and exploring ways to fund that education. The book will be available in late summer.

And just why is it all so important to her?

Monique said as a Bahamian she knows that there is a lot of work to be done on a local level to increase access to higher education. She said there remains a serious gap between the number of students who are graduating each year and those who go on to pursue post-secondary studies. Given that the Bahamas is a growing nation experiencing alarming rates of crime, coupled with high levels of unemployment, she said it is important for her to not only push the benefits of higher education, but to do her part to create avenues for more students to access and embrace the financial opportunities available to them locally and internationally.

“Naturally, college acceptance is based on several core components of college readiness and so it is incumbent upon me to drive the agenda for college preparation for all Bahamians. As one of the pioneers in college and career readiness in the country, I have accepted it as my personal mandate,” she said. “The idea came many years ago when I started interacting with parents and students who were unknowledgeable and ill-equipped to encounter the college admissions process. I met some really bright students, who if they were knowledgeable of the opportunities that were accessible and began their college preparation earlier, they would have received significant scholarships and financial aid packages.”

At the upcoming one-day student success seminar, Monique said the goal is to strengthen the skills and competencies of students. She hopes to ensure that these students are endowed with these competencies early and build on them throughout high school, as college survival requires that students enter institutions with specialised skills.

“I believe that the planting of seeds in these sessions will yield much growth in the coming academic year and indeed the years ahead. I feel that the sessions will be so impactful that students and their parents will leave stimulated and ignited to take on the upcoming academic year with courage and increased proficiency,” Monique said. “I know that if students use the knowledge that they acquire, not only will they have a successful school year, but once the acquired skills and tools are consistently applied, they are guaranteed to make a smooth transition to college and will probably celebrate the success of financial aid, scholarships and grants they receive in the process. I am grateful to the corporate sponsors and friends who are sponsoring students from the public school system to afford them a transformative opportunity.”

To register or sponsor a student for one of these workshops, contact 436-2370/448-4844 or e-mail info@gcatoday.com.