Environmental Stewards Graduate Spring Semester

Walcott “OJ” Miller Jr. of C.V. Bethel High School at Research

(Cape Eleuthera, The Bahamas)—With the completion of The Island School 2009 spring semester, two Bahamas Environmental Steward Scholar (BESS) members finished their year-long education and internship program. The spring semester graduates include Walcott “OJ” Miller Jr. of C.V. Bethel High School and Latario Moxey of St. Georges High School. These young scholars participated in a 14-week semester at The Island School in the spring and accomplished their internships in the fall with Miller interning with Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF), and Moxey interning at The Hub.
 
 “I was attracted to the BESS program because The Island School semester and internship opportunity could provide me with studies in my career field of interest, marine biology,” explains Miller, “Not only did I learn much about marine biology, but I also embraced the interrelated humanities, ecology, environmental art, and celestial navigation course work. I learned about how to be a member of a large community by applying my leadership skills and by thinking about community in terms of what one can do for it, instead of what it can do for me.”
 
Jasmine Wilchcombe, Alannah Vellacott, Bradley Watson, and Ted Thompson, all members of the fall 2008 BESS class, finished their internship work with BREEF and the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) this spring with focuses on aquaculture management, bonefish and flats ecology, shark conservation, and environmental policy related to The Bahamas and the Caribbean. They will advance their education pursuits in the fall.
 
For more information about BESS, BREEF, and The Island School please see www.islandschool.org or www.breef.org online for more information.