About the Mico Old Students’ Association
FOUNDED IN 1922, The Mico Old Students’ Association (MOSA) has always kept a close link with and supported The Mico Teachers’ College, now The Mico University College. As an organisation, we accept as our moral responsibility the safeguarding of The Mico’s rich traditions, while seeking to encourage and implement any activity that will allow the institution to adjust its services to the changing needs of the society. Our annual presentation of the Glen Owen Lecture and the award of scholarships underscore our commitment.
We of MOSA support The Mico’s quest to realise its stated mission, ‘To be the university of choice in the Caribbean for policymakers, employees and for students pursuing degrees in teacher education; by developing critical thinkers and problem-solvers, who embrace lifelong learning; by contributing effectively to an improved quality of life at the personal, national and global levels, and being financially sustainable.’
We are committed to providing services and programmes that facilitate the lifelong process of education and personal development for all Mico graduates.
Our flagship event, the Gold Medal Awards Ceremony, is held every two years, (since 1923) in keeping with The Mico University College Alumni Association’s mission to preserve the traditions of The Mico, our alma mater. It is seen as a beacon of educational development, and the Gold Medal event recognises the professional growth of its members, who have also contributed to the college and the wider community in which they reside and work.
As an organisation, MOSA remains committed to advancing the interests of The Mico University College in all its endeavours, whether the requirements are in the form of advocacy, counsel, philanthropy or any other form of volunteer assistance. We as graduates of The Mico University College realise that we have a unique and valuable role to play in promoting the excellence, advancement and prestige of the university, and are ensuring that we will never forget or forsake this obligation.
To understand the impact of The Mico and its cadre of alumni to our Jamaican society, one only have to recall the many distinguished graduates, such as the late Professor Aubrey Phillips, Hon Glenville H. Owen, Edwin Allen, former minister of education, Sir Clifford Campbell and Sir Howard Cooke, both former governors general, and Prof Claude M. Packer, (first president of the institution).
Distinguished Miconian Sir Howard Cooke, in his book, They call me Teacher, speaks of the influence of The Mico and its graduates on the development of Jamaica. He puts it very succinctly: “The social revolution of any country depends on the institutions and people who are committed to the upliftment of the people. In the Caribbean region, no single institution has done more than The Mico College for the upward mobility of our people”.
The unique thing about being a Miconian is having an appreciation that, like the phoenix, The Mico, with assistance from the Lady Mico Trust and the work of Thomas Fowell Buxton, rose from the ashes of slavery, found its niche, and since 1836 has been influencing developments in education.
Our motto, ‘Do It With Thy Might’, is said to be an expression of the hope that the lives of Jamaicans, and many who choose to be Miconians, will not be mere paths less travelled, or unknown by most of the rest of the nation. Hence, in 2019 we celebrate 97 years as an alumni association, contributing to nation building in Jamaica and across the Jamaican diaspora. HUGH MORRIS, OD, JP IPP MOSA