Eight Year-12 students from St. Ignatius Catholic School got an unforgettable behind-the-scenes look at the fast-paced world of news, radio, and television during an immersive visit to Compass Media on Wednesday, 19 June.
Arriving bright and early at 6:30 am, the students – all members of the school’s drama society or aspiring creatives with interests in journalism and marketing – spent the day actively engaging across multiple departments, alongside their Head of Drama, Catherine Marron.
“It has been a fabulous day,” said Marron. “The students have learnt so much and engaged in so many aspects of media, news and entertainment. It’s been a great opportunity and has opened their eyes to career opportunities in Cayman.”
St. Ignatius students go on-air
The day kicked off with a seat in the live studio of Daybreak, Compass Media’s morning TV show. Students watched as host Raegan Rutty interviewed Deshawn Whittaker, a standout young goalkeeper for the national football team and the latest Daybreak Rising Star. Students even got a brief moment of fame themselves, waving on-air during a segment bump shot.
“It was so amazing watching Ms. Raegan and Ms. Mina,” said Clare Artuch.
The students then split up to participate in live radio segments across Compass’ three stations.
Clare Artuch, Alasdair Dewson, and Shamir Jayamanna joined Mark and Teri on-air at Z99 to chat about everything from A-level exam stress to favourite shoes and quirky skills they’d picked up from YouTube. Island FM hosted Arabella Bothwell, Jude Solomon and Brooklyn Ebanks, while Anastasia Bennet and Jack Clark-Terrell joined the team at Gold Cayman 94.9. All of the students got to see how music transitions, ad timing and playlist layering are handled in real time.
“It was incredible. A life-changing experience,” said Brooklyn Ebanks.
St. Ignatius students go behind the scenes
The students then joined News Editor Alan Markoff, who offered valuable advice on what makes a good journalist.
“No two days are the same,” he said. “You need to be curious. If something catches your attention, chances are others will find it interesting too. But you have to draw them in quickly.”
Claire Artuch asked how many times a story is reviewed before publishing. “At least twice,” Markoff replied.
Aspiring photographer Shamir Jayamanna asked about opportunities for freelancers, and impressed the team so much with his skills and enthusiasm that his photos from the day were selected to be published with this article.
Graphic Designer Alex Angel gave the students a crash course in pagination and the layout process of print publications, while Cheryl Birch-Gillies, Head of Sales, and Angela Sevilla, Head of Marketing, led dynamic sessions on local business promotion.
“It’s not just about the newspaper,” said Birch-Gillies. “These publications are part of our community.”
Sevilla walked students through crafting marketing captions for social media and discussed Compass Media’s Love Local campaign, which gives Caymanian businesses extensive exposure across multiple platforms. Both Birch-Gilles and Sevilla reinforced the importance of supporting local businesses.
From voicing commercials to visiting the media control room and watching newspaper production with Donovan Nelson, the students experienced the vast scope of what it takes to keep a modern media house running.
“It’s given me a chance to look at something that I wouldn’t have gotten to see otherwise,” said student Jude Solomon.
“It was an interesting experience to see what goes on behind the scenes,” added Anastasia Bennet.
Inspiring the Next Generation
For Compass Media, the visit was about inspiring the next generation of Cayman’s communicators, creators and storytellers.
“We were thrilled to welcome such a passionate and curious group of students,” said Compass TV News Assignment Editor Reshma Ragoonath. “Their energy, excitement and ideas truly reminded us that this is why we do what we do. Hopefully the experience inspires the students to beome the next generation of Caymanian journalists.”
For St. Ignatius students – Brooklyn, Jude, Shamir, Clare, Jack, Anastasia, Arabella and Alasdair – the day may have started with curiosity, but it ended with clarity, inspiration, and perhaps even the beginning of a new career dream.
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