Cayman Islands RUBiS announces Finalist for 2019 Top Student Program
After 8 weeks of entries from across the Cayman Islands and two rounds of judging by two independent judging panels, the Top 10 finalists for the RUBiS Top Student program have been announced.
Alzavia Goulbourne of Red Bay Primary School, Damoya Fearon of Red Bay Primary School, Hosannia O’Connor of East End Primary School, Jeleah Maize of George Town Primary School, Kai Roberts of Layman E. Scott High School, Kaz Conolly Basdeo of Montessori By The Sea, Kezzia King of Triple C School, Naima Myles of George Town Primary School, Oral Michelin, The Lighthouse School, and Tianna Ebanks, Prospect Primary School, impressed both sets of judges with their passion for various academics, sports and arts.
The program, which first launched in 2015, was open to students ages 7-12 across the Cayman Islands. Students interested in applying were asked to exhibit excellence, passion and enthusiasm in any particular area of interest such as; fine arts, performing arts, sports, STEM activities or academic achievement, in order to be in with a chance of winning a financial grant to support their passion.
Speaking on the 2019 RUBiS Top Student program, Managing Director of RUBiS Cayman Islands, Nicolas de Breyne, said:
“With 70 talented entries for the 2019 RUBiS Top Student program, the judging panels faced a difficult task narrowing down the submissions to top ten finalists. However, the finalists managed to standout through their ability to articulate and demonstrate their passion for their chosen activity and how being selected as RUBiS Top Student would help achieve their goals.”
While the RUBiS Top Student program was only able to recognise 10 students to receive final grants to help support their passions, Mr de Breyne noted that the amount of talent across the youth of the Cayman Islands left all the judges thoroughly impressed.
“The talent we have seen from this competition has made a positive impression on everyone involved,” Mr de Breyne said. “Cayman certainly has a bright future ahead.”
“We would also like to say a special thank you to all the parents and schools who have been so supportive of the students getting involved with the RUBiS Top Student program.”
The grand prize winner will be announced at the RUBiS Top Student awards ceremony on June 12th and will receive a $5,000 grant towards developing their talent as well as an additional $1,000 to be donated to a club or school of their choice. The runners up will each receive a $1,000 grant to be used to help progress their passions.
Additional information
· This is the third edition of the biennial contest which was first launched by RUBiS Cayman Islands in 2015. To date has donated over $42,000 in financial grants to over 30 students in the Cayman Islands.
· Two independent judging panels from across the fields of academics, arts, sports and community, reviewed the contestants across two rounds of judging
· The grand prize winner will be announced at the RUBiS top student prize presentation on June 12th which will conclude the 10 week campaign.
Full List of Finalists (Alphabetical Order by First Name)
| Applicant name: | Age: | School: |
| Alzavia Goulbourne | 9 | Red Bay Primary |
| Damoya Fearon | 9 | Red Bay Primary |
| Hosannia O’Connor | 11 | East End Primary |
| Jeleah Maize | 8 | George Town Primary |
| Kai Roberts | 10 | Layman E. Scott Snr. High School |
| Kaz Conolly Basdeo | 10 | Montessori By The Sea |
| Kezzia King | 12 | Triple C |
| Naima Myles | 7 | George Town Primary |
| Oral Michelin | 11 | The Lighthouse School |
| Tianna Ebanks | 10 | Prospect Primary School |
Rubis Top Student Awards Ceremony
What: 2019 RUBiS Top Student Awards Ceremony
When: Wednesday, June 12th, 2019 | 5:00pm – 6:30pm
Where: George Town Yacht Club
Details: The RUBiS Top Student Awards, organised by RUBiS Cayman Islands, is a biennial program that aims to recognise, reward and motivate children with a financial grant to pursue their passions.
The contest is open to students aged 7-12 in the Cayman Islands who demonstrate enthusiasm towards activities they are passionate about such as; fine arts, performing arts, sports, STEM activities or academic achievement.
With $15,000 worth of prizes up for grabs RUBiS Top Student entries were assessed by two independent judging panels who selected 10 finalists out of 70 submissions
The Top 10 finalists will be presented their awards during the awards ceremony and the grand prize winner will be announced.
Nine finalists will receive a financial grant of $1,000 each, and the grand prize winner will receive of $5,000.
The awards ceremony will be attended by RUBiS corporate, student finalists, members of the education community and local government.
Please RSVP to [email protected]
