Ocean Academy Girls Rising and Staying in School

June Graduation Ceremony is always an exciting and proud moment. This year Ocean Academy celebrated our TWELFTH graduating class of 26 students.  Many of whom are the first in their families to graduate. You, our supporters, have made every step of the way possible. Thank you!

We know that you are especially interested in opportunities and success stories of women and girls.   In that spirit, we'd like to highlight Ayasha who earned the 2022 Ocean Academy Award of Excellence. Her photo is below.

Several female staff members also graduated this June. Ocean Academy's teachers model the importance of Lifelong Learning.  Their achievement is made all the more remarkable because these teachers undertook their respective degrees while still teaching full time.  Congratulations:

• Janel (Entrepreneurship Teacher) earned her Bachelor's Degree in Business Education.
• Florence (Information Communication Technology Teacher, Mindfullness/Yoga Teacher, Mentor for Girls Rising Club) and Shantel  (School Counsellor and Social Worker) both completed Diplomas in Education.
• Amara (Science, Marine Biology, P.E. Teacher) is pursuing her Bachelor's in Science Education.
• Rebecca (Head of Science Department) and Noemi (Vice-Principal) are both pursuing Leadership Degrees.
• Liz (Belizean Studies) is undertaking a degree in Psychology. She was also recently elected as Councillor and Secretary of the Caye Caulker Village Council.  You can see her portfolio responsibilities in the photo below.

July was a busy month on our campus as we again hosted a Digital Technology Summer Camp called "Introduction to New Technology and Cyber Security Awareness".  This opportunity was possible thanks to our partnership with Digital Silence (website URL below). Digital Silence is a team of cyber security professionals who volunteered their time and expertise with Ocean Academy to lead intensive one-week specialization courses. They engaged students and police officers in digital literacy skills, digital forensics and cyber security awareness. The camp also empowered youth to develop employability and entrepreneurial skills.

Participants were: 19 students (5 of whom are girls); 2 police officers (1 female and 1 male); and Ocean Academy's 3 ICT teachers (including Florence whom we introduced above).

We are very grateful to the Digital Silence team of instructors! 

• Justin Whitehead taught Computer Repair. Participants learned how to rebuild and repair computers and install OS.  Justin Whitehead is CEO of Digital Silence, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Certified Forensic Hacking Intelligence (CFHI), US Army Veteran (Airborne Infantry) and has a Bachelor of Computer Science Computer, Information Technology Specialization in Forensics.
• Justin Whitehead and Dan Nelson together taught an advanced class of Forensics.  You can see photos of students below, as they learned about a Chain of Custody Form and how to fill it out, basic rule of law around forensics, imaging a piece of digital evidence and how to look at the image and find details.  Dan is a licensed Attorney focussing on Privacy & Data Security matters, Bachelor of Science Economics, Juris Doctorate.
• Erin Beffa is an Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Professional. She covered topics like Google dorking/hacking and OSINT.
• Ryan Jones taught Intro to Physical Security. Partipants learned how to evaluate gaps in existing physical security systems, best practices,  bypassing certain physical security measures and lock picking. Ryan Jones has over 20 years of experience in Information Security, is CTO of Digital Silence and Certified Information System Security Professional
• Justin Montalbono taught Video Editing.  Students learned how to install video editing software, capture video images and merge content together.

Dear GlobalGiving donors, thank you for believing in all of our students, but especially for supporting opportunities for girls. Thank you for believing in the value of investing in their education.  You are truly making an impact.  

Links:

• Digital Silence website