MBCC kick-off 50th anniversary celebration, months of activities planned

“MBCC kick-off 50th anniversary celebration, months of activities planned”

except from the Jamaica Gleaner Online 
Published: Thursday | June 19, 2025 | 12:11 AM by Christopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
 
From left: Stephen Dear, board chairman of the Montego Bay Community College (MBCC) in Montego Bay, St James; Dwight Crawford, deputy mayor of Montego Bay; Dr Angela Samuels-Harris, former principal of MBCC; Charles Ramsay, executive administrator and chairman of the MBCC 50th anniversary committee; Dr Michelle Pinnock, regional director of the Ministry of Education’s Region Four; Barbara Nelson, one of MBCC’s co-founders and a former board chairman of the school; and Dr Darien Henry, MBCC’s current principal, participate in a cake-cutting photo op during the launch of MBCC’s 50th anniversary celebration, held at the school on Monday.
 

Administrators and students at the St James-based Montego Bay Community College (MBCC) on Monday officially launched the school’s 50th anniversary celebration, which will entail a series of activities to acknowledge the institution’s commitment to providing quality education in western Jamaica.

The launch was held at the MBCC’s main campus under the theme ‘Celebrating 50 years: Transforming lives and inspiring excellence in education’.

The MBCC’s list of commemorative activities include a church service on September 7, the launch of its Foundation Week on September 8, the premier of a documentary about the school and the launch of a memoir on October 22, and the institution’s graduation service at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on November 20.

There will also be a charity run/walk on February 8, 2026 to raise funds for student welfare support, and a fundraising banquet on March 29, 2026 for the construction of a science, technology, engineering and mathematics facility.

Dr Darien Henry, MBCC’s principal, told Monday’s launch that the school’s five decades of existence have provided its students with opportunities for employment in the development of various sectors.

“Fifty years is no small feat, and it speaks to perseverance and relevance, and also to where we are going,” said Henry. “It is a kind of bold excellence that must be announced while leaving a deep and lasting legacy, and the theme ‘Celebrating 50 years: Transforming lives and inspiring excellence in education’ is a striking reflection of who we are and what the college means to western Jamaica for half a century.

“When we speak about MBCC’s legacy, we are talking about students who walked through our gates not knowing where they were, but brimming with potential, and who left as leaders, innovators and trailblazers. Many have gone on to be shapers of industry, in boardrooms, in fast growing technology startups, and into entrepreneurship that is boldly reshaping communities.

“Our MBCC alumni are embedded in tourism, banking, logistics, healthcare, education, and media. They are not just participants, they are decision-makers.”…

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