CedarBridge Academy Wins Butterfield Student Challenge!
On Saturday, 11 February, CedarBridge Academy was named the overall winner of the third annual Butterfield Student Challenge competition held at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess. CedarBridge was also the recipient of the coveted People’s Choice Award.
Teams of four students from six participating high schools—The Berkeley Institute, Bermuda High School, Bermuda Institute, CedarBridge Academy, Saltus Grammar School, and Warwick Academy —took on selected case studies, acting as consultants for fictitious local companies requiring financial advice and products. Each team presented its solution to a packed house of over 400 people and a panel of distinguished judges: The Honourable Dame Jennifer Smith, Minister of Education; Brad Kopp, Butterfield President & CEO; Lori Baker-Lloyd, Vice President Human Resources, Butterfield Global Programmes; Duranda Greene, President of Bermuda College; Bruce Barritt, General Manager of John Barritt & Son Ltd.; and Jamillah Lodge, Business Development Officer, The Bermuda Economic Development Corporation.
The competition was organised by Butterfield’s Management Trainees. Each team was supported by Butterfield mentors and school representatives. In addition to a live presentation, each team was required to produce a detailed financial plan.
The three finalists were:
Third Place: Saltus Grammar School
Ryan Spencer-Arscott
Mark Godfrey
Courtney Chiappa
Torrae Wainwright
(Butterfield Executive Mentor, Lydia Saraiva, AVP Retail Banking and Peer Mentor Kondwani Williams, Control Analyst, Compliance, Saltus Mentor, Ms. Nicole Chichon)
Second Place and the School Attendance Award: Berkeley Institute;
• Glenn Simmons
• Brittany Oliveira
• Whitney Riley
• Kwame Harris
(Butterfield Executive Mentor, Renee Ming, AVP, Corporate Banking, Peer Mentor, Ebony Fray, Berkeley Mentors, Ms. Dawn Nicholls-Marshall and Ms. Lenice Reynolds-Dyer)
First Place and People’s Choice Award: CedarBridge Academy
Rodneyka Browne-Evans Freeman
Breon Neverson
Kjeld Conyers-Steede
Kevin Pacheco
(Butterfield Executive Mentor, Daniel Reece, Head of Bermuda Compliance and Peer Mentor, Sharmaine Landy, CedarBridge Academy Mentors Mr. Dean Foggo and Ms. Shervelle Burch)
Mr. Kopp said Butterfield was extremely proud to, once again, be the sole sponsor and organiser of this popular community event.
Mr. Kopp said. “Through the Student Challenge, we are able to give the young people involved the opportunity to work together in teams, network with senior business people and apply their creativity and knowledge to real-world business issues. It’s a unique experience, and an investment that we strongly believe will help shape the future leaders of Bermuda’s business community.”
Mr. Kopp added, “I would like to congratulate everyone who was involved in this year’s competition—from the mentors and judges, to the coordinators both at the schools and within the Bank, and especially the students themselves, who impressed everyone with their hard work.”
The Honourable Dame Jennifer Smith said, “The Butterfield Student Challenge demonstrates that when we expect the best from our students, we get the best. Students were challenged to be creative, to think strategically and at the same time to offer practical solutions to real life problems. The presentations delivered by the students were most impressive and a true testament to the quality of the education they have received. I expect great things from all of the participants and I thank Butterfield and all of those involved for organising the competition.”
The winning teams received monetary awards totalling $8,500 to be used for future education expenses. A recording of the 11 February 2012 competition will be broadcast on CITV in March.
