Students have a splashingsummer at the Water Authority
Left to Right:Kristen Watler, Yasmin James, Sean Douglas, Andrew Brown, EdwardSanchez and Eric Webster (Jilynne Monteith is missing from photo)
Each year, the Water Authority endeavorsto make available job opportunities for summer students.
This summer is exceptional because seven young Caymanian studentsranging from ages 12-18 were hired in various departments fora period of six to eight weeks.
The Human Resources & AdministrationDepartment provided an opportunity for Kristen Watler and JilynneMonteith to gain exposure in personnel management as they assistedwith various administrative duties. Kristen will be returningto the University of South Florida where she is pursuing a degreein Finance and International Business and Jilynne starts St. IgnatiusHigh School in September in pursuit of her A Levels.
The young aspiring accountant, Eric Webster,was able to gain quality work experience in the Financial Departmentwhere he was exposed to various tasks from bank reconciliation'sto accounts receivable. Eric returns to the University of Connecticutto complete his bachelor's degree in accounting.
Andrew Brown, a 2002 St. Ignatius High Schoolhonors graduate whose interests are in physics, chemistry andbiology, worked in the Authority's Water Resources & QualityControl Department.
Andrew commented. "With the experiencegained through work at the Water Authority, I will be better ableto make informed decisions as to the direction my career willtake".
Andrew assisted with geological sample collectionand the installation of rain gauges.
The Customer Service Department was delightedto have Edward Sanchez rejoin the team as he also worked lastsummer in the Metering section. The meter readers kept Edwardbusy as he assisted them with various duties to include installations,disconnections and meter reading.
Edward will start grade 11 when he returnsto Hollywood Christian Academy in August and commented that hiswork experience at the Water Authority has been valuable and interestingas he gains skills that he may be able to utilize in a futurecareer.
Sean Douglas is a John Gray High Schoolstudent who is considering an Engineering career and is excitedabout the exposure and work experience he gained as he workedthis summer in the Engineering & New Works Department. Mostof Sean's work was in the Drawing Office where he assisted withmanual and computerized updating of record drawings and the collectionof data required for design.
The ladies of the laboratory also welcomedback Yasmin James. Yasmin presently attends the Cayman IslandsCommunity College and her ultimate goal is to continue her educationoverseas and obtain a bachelor's degree in Microbiology. Yasmin'sduties in the Lab included assisting, under supervision, the laboratorystaff with routine preparatory and cleanup work, sample collection,analyses on the Authority's potable water supplies including customer'squeries, and analyses on the Authority's wastewater treatmentponds.
Dr. Gelia Frederick-van Genderen commentedthat the Authority always tries to participate and make availableopportunities for young Caymanians to learn about possible careerchoices at the Water Authority. "It is very encouraging tosee the enthusiasm and ambition of these young people.
They have been doing an excellent job thissummer." Dr. Frederick-van Genderen extends best wishes asthey return to school and hopes that the experience gained mayhelp in directing their future career paths.