The Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute (MAWI) celebrated the accomplishments of 14 staff members who successfully completed the City & Guilds Certification in Working with People who have Learning Disabilities.

MAWI achieved City & Guilds status last year and the graduates are the first students to successfully complete the year-long course. City and Guilds is the United Kingdom?s leading vocational qualification body and offers more than 500 qualifications in over 28 industry sectors in 100 countries.

At a special ceremony at MAWI, the graduates were greeted with warm applause and jubilant cheers of ?well done? from family and friends as they received their certificates from the programme manager of Learning Disabilities at MAWI, Michael Murray.

Guest Speaker and lawyer Maxine Binns, congratulated the graduates on their accomplishments and encouraged them to never stop learning.

?It takes a certain type of person to do the work that you do and you should be pleased that you have come this far, but this should not be your final destination. This is only part of your journey,? she said.

Ms Binns returned to school in her late forties to study law and she used her personal experience as an adult learner to challenge the graduates to focus on their personal and professional goals. ?Move out of your comfort zones and kiss them goodbye. If you are in a comfort zone and are afraid to venture out, remember that all winners were at one time filled with doubt.

?Never lose sight of your goals. Pin your goals up on the wall or use them as the screen saver on your computer. You need to make sure that you are who you want to be in life.?