Wesna Nolan

Wesna Nolan never dreamt of becoming a teacher. Her father wanted her to become a doctor and she wanted to become a nurse. However, after many failed attempts, she applied to Mico Teachers' College and was accepted.

Ms. Nolan has been a teacher since 1971. Of the 36 years, 29 have been spent at the Tivoli High School.

"Man plans and God wipes out," is how she puts it.

After graduating from Mico, Nolan taught at the now- defunct Warren Hall High School for five years then for two years at Drews Avenue Primary. When she applied to Tivoli, she was also accepted at another high school, but she believes it was destiny that led her to choose Tivoli.

Nolan, a Portland native, is a very spiritual person and said the best thing that her father Roland Nolan (now deceased) ever taught her was how to pray. Wesna Nolan welcomes challenges and uses "every set back to make a comeback".

She was appointed principal of Tivoli High in 2005. Nolan just likes being at work and says the day she feels like not going to school will be the time to quit. But after more than three decades shehas not had that feeling yet. She has one daughter and a grandson.

Marlene Hamilton

The stroke of a paintbrush intrigued her as a child, but as an adult, Professor Marlene Hamilton channelled her artistry into moulding and developing great minds.

Professor Hamilton is one of the most humble persons you'll meet, so much so that she is hesitant to speak about her many achievements. Her work at the University of the West Indies (UWI) began in 1973 as a lecturer in educational psychology. She eventually became the head of the Education Department and later on, the first female dean of the Mona campus.

This was only the beginning. In 1990, 17 years after returning to her alma mater, the University of the West Indies, to lecture, Professor Hamilton was appointed as deputy principal of the Mona campus. In the same year she was also appointed pro vice chancellor, becoming the first woman to break the glass ceiling in the male-dominated university.

She served as deputy principal until 1996. Professor Hamilton is now the longest serving pro vice chancellor of the UWI. In the highly male-dominated administration at UWI, Professor Hamilton said she received immense support from Sir Alister McIntyre and Professor Gerald Lalor and the women of the UWI kept her strong.

As deputy principal, Professor Hamilton facilitated the implementation of several student development programmes. Some of these include the mentorship and leadership programmes, a programme for disabled students as well as an ordinance with rules, regulations and sanctions for sexual harassment.

"If I had to do it all over again I would want to go through the same steps and arrive at the same position because it has been both challenging and fulfilling," she said.

Her smile never fading, Professor Hamilton says her greatest passion is her nine-year-old granddaughter.

The most satisfying moment for her has been seeing her students succeed.

Elaine Bryan

With all the bad press about Jamaica, it is fantastic to find a Jamaican making us proud abroad.

Elaine Bryan is an educator, counsellor and philanthropist based in Atlanta, but when she first migrated to the United States in 1990, she was a realtor.

Ms. Bryan came to the attention of many Jamaicans in July 2006 when she was presented with the Phoenix Award for service to education and community services in Atlanta. It is the highest award that can be bestowed upon an individual by the mayor of Atlanta.

Since 2005, Bryan has racked up several awards for her more than four years of outstanding work as a high school counsellor. These include: the Judge Glenda Hatchett Educational Mentoring Award (of which she was the first recipient; the Barbados Association's Trident Award for Excellence (presented by West Indies great Dr. Wes Hall himself) and the Turner Broadcasting Education Appreciation Award. She is currently involved with the BAM group at Microsoft Corporation, helping them identify candidates for scholarships and internship opportunities.

Ms. Bryan has also been featured on Home and Garden Television for her work as a successful real estate investor. She also launched the EB Success Centre in Atlanta to assist young people who want to further their education.

Her philosophy is: "What you do with what you have determines what you become."

Rochelle Morrison

With a history of academic excellence, 21-year-old Rochelle Morrison is on her way to becoming a phenomenal woman.

A former student of the Immaculate Conception High School, Ms. Morrison is now a process engineer at Petrojam Ltd. Her journey to success began in 2001, when she gained eight distinctions in the CSEC, an A in GCE additional mathematics, and was first islandwide in physics and chemistry.

Two years later she repeated her feat when she earned grade one in math, chemistry and physics in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) exams. Ms. Morrison received theCAPE National Award for placing first in mathematics and second in chemistry.

Outstanding performance

She later received the H.J. Fenton Scholarship awarded by Petrojam for her outstanding performance in engineering at the St. Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies. Becoming an engineer was not a part of her dream, Rochelle admits. What she wanted then was to be a dancer or a doctor. However, after entering high school, she realised that she excelled in the sciences and decided to pursue a career in her current field.

"This is not the end of the road, I want to do a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering ... I'm not sure where I want to go after that, but the ultimate career goal is to become a production manager," Rochelle said.

Rochelle is a perfectionist and admits that not wanting to disappoint her clients motivates her to always do well. A career in chemical engineering, she says, is a way of making a strong contribution as a young Jamaican to national development.

A former student of the Immaculate Conception High School, Ms. Morrison is now a Process Engineer at Petrojam Ltd. Her journey to success began in 2001, when she gained eight distinctions in the CSEC.