Jolanda Hall, president of the Bahamian Connection club, graduated last year with a degree in business administration. Hall will continue her education as a graduate student next semester and is planning her wedding for June. She has twin brothers who also attend Lee University.

She became the President of Bahamian Connection club last semester and is currently taking prerequisite classes for her graduate degree in school counseling.

Clarion: Can you introduce the club you preside over?

Hall: The club is basically for Bahamian students and our friends and it’s actually open to the Cleveland community, for all the people who are part of the Bahamian culture and for people who are interested in the Bahamian culture.

What we do basically is to set an environment for Bahamians when they come [so that] they can have friends to connect with and it’s also for all freshmen.

C: Can you give an account of your history with the club?

H: What I have done since I have been President is definitely to build up a structure [although] we had some structures before but it was not really dominant since we have [had] a lot of new Bahamians since the past presidents. So, it’s like kind of uniting us and to bring other students to fellowship with us.

C: What have you been doing since you graduated?

H: I have taken some graduate classes in the school counseling program, that’s what I did last semester and this semester.

I have to take some education classes to kind of help me towards the [graduate's] program since I was a business major with no prior experience in classroom/school counseling.

C: What plans do you have for the period after graduate school?

H: What I hope to do when I graduate from here is definitely to gain as much experience as I can within the United States as long as I can and then eventually go back home to the Bahamas to spread and share everything that I have learned here for the bettering of my country.

C: What is your ultimate goal in life?

H: Well, my ultimate goal in life definitely is to reach as much people as I can, that’s my ministry and to fulfill the purpose that God has for my life.

C: What do you see as the future of the Bahamian Connection club?

H: What I see in the future of Bahamian Connection is ultimate unity for Bahamians on this campus. I would love for us to share as much as we can about our culture here on campus and in the Cleveland community.

C: What do you think about Lee University and do you think Lee has equipped you with all you need to face the future challenges?

H: I think that Lee University has opened up a lot of windows and doors, a lot of issues and situations that I have never seen or looked at before. They have definitely given me a lot of opportunities to get out to help others. They have impacted me a lot by educating me and teaching me things I never knew before. They have also shared the Word of God with me, what’s better than that?

C: What do you think about Chapel services?

H: Since I have been here for over four years, I have definitely enjoyed the Chapel services and I am among the few who is promoting diversity among the chapel services. We do want the services to reflect the minorities since we attend [the services]. I do think they should be more culturally diverse speakers though I am not complaining because they [the chapel speakers] are really nice but we really need a new variety.

C: What’s your advice to Bahamians and international students in general?

H: My advice to Bahamians is to unite because together we can move mountains, make a change and make a difference. Explore, get involved and contribute.

C: Any other comments?

H: Next semester, we are going to have a big food can drive for We Care foundation and other than that; we don’t have any other thing going on for this semester.

I will also like to thank Lee University for supporting us and our friends on campus who gave us money that helped us out. Bahamian Connection club will like to thank the whole campus for extending their arms out to us because they did not have to do it.

I also encourage all international students to look at what school has done for us and [let's] be appreciative of it.