Mercury Institute to hold its Annual Graduation and Awards Night on 1st October 2016
Mercury Institute of Management will hold its annual Graduation and Awards Night on 01st October at BMICH from 3.00 pm onwards. This ceremony will be a celebration of success of Mercury’s ACCA Affiliates, Oxford Brookes University and University of London Graduate and ACCA prizewinners of 2015/16. The Chief Guest for this event will be Mr. John Playle, Chief Moderator of Oxford Brookes University, UK, while the Guest of Honour will be Mr. Adrian Perera, President of ACCA’s Member Network Panel.
Mr. Jeevith Shakespeare, Managing Director of Mercury Institute of Management stated, “Having launched this momentous event last year, we continue to recognize the magnificent achieve-
OTTUMWA — The International Affairs Office at Indian Hills Community College is looking for area residents to take part in a unique cultural experience called the International Friendship Program. The effort allows local families to introduce some of the college’s nearly 200 international students to American culture.
In its third year, the International Friendship Program was created to allow students to learn firsthand about American culture, said Ashley Albertson, International Affairs coordinator. “We started off with about 35 [international] students. Right now at fall term, we’re at a 190. For our friendship program, for our first year of the program, we had 11 students take part in the program and nine families. And last year, which was the second year of our program, we had 28 students take part in the program.”
Kelly and Rhonda Conrad have bonded with several foreign students through the friendship program. “It starts out with two or three students every year,” Kelly said. “Usually by the time the year ends, it goes up to six or eight students.” Students assigned to the Conrads will bring friends along, boosting their number.
Albertson accepts applications for the program, “and then she selects students that are your international students for the year,” Conrad said. Students and their families are introduced to one another at a banquet held for that purpose.
Hosts don’t have to take multiple students. “We just sign up for more because I think international students are comfortable with people from their own country, and I think it takes a little anxiety away from the students,” Conrad said.
The Conrads have taken students to the Iowa State Fair and to Pella’s Tulip Time Festival. “We’ll take them out to eat, do a little shopping, things like that,” Conrad said.
“I’ve learned that they really appreciate the opportunity to be in the United States to study and that their families have really sacrificed” to have them come here, Conrad said. “And we’ve been fortunate to ments of our ACCA students who have completed their exams, of students who have secured the BSc. (Hons) in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University, UK; the various BSc. (Hons) degrees form University of London and all prizewinners who have excelled in their studies. I thank our entire Lecture Panel for their efforts in producing magnificent results, and also all parents who trusted and chose ACCA and Mercury for your child’s professional education. May you reap the highest dividends from your choice.”
Another highlight of the ceremony would be the official launch of the Oxford Brookes University Sri Lanka Alumni Chapter. Dinusha Weerawardane, President of the Sri Lanka Chapter stated, “The Oxford Brookes Alumni Chapter in Sri Lanka is the newest addition to the have some of their parents come at graduation time, and they’re very grateful that their students have the opportunity and have a host family.
“Ashley does a great job of pairing the families, and we all miss Freddy Miranda,” Conrad said. Miranda, who was killed earlier this year while on a recruiting trip to South America, was the director of International Affairs at IHCC at the time of his death. Miranda, a native of Ecudaor, spearheaded countless studentfocused initiatives at IHCC.
Bhagya Godakanda is one of several Indian Hills students from Sri Lanka. “I came here last fall,” Godakanda said. Through the International Friendship Program, she was paired with Jessica Chickering, director of student support University's international network. Through this Chapter, we hope to foster networking relationships between alumni and give them with the opportunity to stay in touch with the University and their classmates and we have an exciting series of events planned to facilitate this. With over 250 Oxford Brookes Alumni in Sri Lanka, I think this launch comes at a timely juncture…”
Official sponsors for the event are: Platinum Sponsor - ACCA Sri Lanka; Official Hospitality Partner – Hilton Residencies, FLOW, Basilico, and Union Bar and Grill; Official Print Media Partner – Education Times, The Sunday Times and Mirror Education, Official Photography Partner – Sagara Lakmal De Mel Photography; Official Media Partner – ATOM and Official Event Planner – Eventura.