JAMAICA 360° Sun Festival

1st Annual College Graduation Celebration

By Alile C. Eldridge

Imagine yourself whisked away to a beautiful beach in Jamaica. You have just reached a major milestone in your life- you graduated from college. That was a reality for 100 recent college graduates who experienced the trip of a lifetime when they were rewarded with an all- expense paid trip to the Grand Lido Braco Resort in Jamaica. It initially appeared to be just a trip of a lifetime, but the trip quickly transcended — as planned — into an experience of enlightenment and transformation.

On May 14th, 2007 students took part in an unprecedented effort to prepare young college graduates for the future. The 1st annual college graduation celebration "Jamaica 360° Sun Festival," was created by Xavier Artis, CEO of Recycling Inspiration (RI). The program was designed not only to celebrate the achievements of African American and other minority students, but also provide them with valuable social, professional and life skills they will need for continued success in the future.

Actor-comedian-social commentator "Professor" Eddie Griffin donated $150,000 to the occasion. "These graduates have defied the statistics in getting their degrees, and performing noteworthy community service along the way," said Griffin. " I had to reward them for their efforts and do what I could to prepare them for their role as future leaders." Griffin, who was fortunate to have the late master comedian/actor Richard Pryor as his mentor, sees underwriting such events as a way to pay it forward.

Students who attended the event were selected upon recommendation from their college or university or a mentor who recognized their outstanding leadership. The goal of the event was to reward students for their hard work and community service, and also to help them reflect on their lives — with a focus on the emotional, spiritual and financial needs of African American and minority students.

Many well-known celebrities and entrepreneurs were in attendance to make the event memorable. Essence Magazine editorial director, Susan L. Taylor; inspirational author and public relations guru Terrie M. Williams; hip- hop legend Doug E. Fresh; Eddie Griffin and music artist Dana Dane and Ali Vegas all contributed their time and advice to the new graduates.

While students enjoyed the beach they also participated in relaxed forums. Listening to the personal testimonials and life stories from Williams, Griffin, Taylor, Fresh, and Dane provided students with lessons of empowerment and life-changing philosophies. "I've never seen so many friends come together as family," recording artist Vegas said. "It was an incredible experience."

"Help someone else and in turn, they help themselves," Williams said. The students were visibly moved by the panel discussions as tears flowed freely and tissue boxes were left empty. Williams, who shared her life story about her battle with depression, kept in the theme of giving back to push forward. Students, moved by Williams' candor, piled into lines to tell their own life stories. Following a panel discussion with Williams, students migrated to the beach for a direct-and personal conversation with the public relations guru and author of the business best seller The Personal Touch. Williams never imagined the immense impact her testimony of overcoming depression would have on the crowd of college graduates, hotel attendees, members of the press, performers and business persons alike. The discussions were also opened to students from surrounding universities in Jamaica in an effort to foster cultural exchanges between American and Jamaican young adults.

Students not only enjoyed the beach and musical performances, they had a chance to reflect. "If I were to tell you, you were coming out here for this, you might not have come. So I masked it," Artis said. The students traveled to Jamaica looking forward to relaxing and celebrating their accomplishments, and they left feeling empowered and moved. The impact of the festival is evident in the student testimonials.

Many organizations showed their support to help make the celebration a success-Blue World Travel, Super Clubs and Air Jamaica helped to provide sponsorship. Organizations that partnered in the event included the Grand Lido Braco Resort in Trelawny, Jamaica, the Jamaica Tourist Board, The Ministry of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture, Uplift Jamaica, Black Meetings and Tourism, Gary Foster (Phat Farm), KLJH FM, X- Site Radio, Marilyn Artis and Cheryl Duncan and Company.

In concert with this celebration, RI announced its new initiative, RI Fellows Exchange Program (RI-FEP), in partnership with Jamaica's leading human resources and training organization, HEART TRUST/NTA. RI-FEP fellows will spend six months-to-one-year in Jamaica for the foreign exchange program, which will include a two-week training course to be adept in teaching hospitality, business, administration and entertainment within the Caribbean nation.

SuperClubs will join the movement in providing 300 job opportunities for the graduates of the RI HEART Trust/NTA program. Nakash Construction & Equipment will be building the training facility that will be utilized for the program at SuperClubs Grand Lido. The training facility will be a model for affordable homes that will be built by HEART students.

Following the celebration many students wrote letters of thanks and praise for their experiences at the "Jamaica 360° Sun Festival." The event was so successful that planning is already underway for the festival slated for May 2008.

Recycling Inspiration (RI) re-celebrates achievements to inspire dreams by securing donations from prominent individuals, celebrities, community leaders and noted entities in eight categories of expertise: Entertainment, Health/Science, Education, Business, Politics/Government, Sports, Law, and Media. The idea behind Recycling Inspiration is to "pay it forward" and provide the opportunity for others to follow their dreams. To date, RI has received awards from President Nelson Mandela, Denzel Washington, Michael Jordan, Beyoncé, Susan L. Taylor, Rachel and Sharon Robinson, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Mary J. Blige and Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Recycling Inspiration was founded by creative philanthropist Xavier Artis and Terrie M. Williams.

Students interested in participating in the "Jamaica 360° Sun Festival" 2008 should send name, address, and the academic institution they are graduating from in '08 — along with a paragraph explaining what matters to them to staystrong@terriewilliams. com. For more information please visit www.recyclinginspiration. com.

"This was truly a great opportunity and I was blessed to be a part of it. I really felt a spiritual presence around us for the entire trip and I believe that this event has the potential to greatly affect our community. I am excited to see what role I can play in that." – VICTOR A. JOHN, COLLEGE OF MOUNT SAINT VINCENT