Warwick Academy, which is set for the grand celebration next year of its 350th anniversary, has added another significant chapter to its centuries-old history.It occurred at the Graduation Exercises of the Class of 2011 when its oldest graduate, 77-year-old Jean Vickers, was called ahead of the 45 other, far younger grads to receive their diplomas and special awards.Graduations ordinarily are lively, emotional events for students, parents, guardians and friends alike. But this one was made even more poignant when the story unfolded about Mrs Vickers, a great grandmother. She is the familiar personality who for the past 19 years has worked as the crossing lady in front of the school every morning.Rain or shine, she is ever present, with a ready smile and welcome for the students, said Academy principal, Mrs Maggie McCorkell. She reminds them of their manners, reminds them about their uniform and has educated the motoring public about the need to slow down and ensure everyone is able to cross the road in safety. She has an air of authority that no one questions. Additionally for the past 14 years, Mrs Vickers has run the after-school care programme for the younger students.Mrs McCorkell called on Rowan Vickers, a namesake but no relative of Mrs Vickers, to give the background leading up to the graduation. He had the rapt attention of the audience packing the amphitheatre of the Fairmont Southampton as he eloquently told how, more than two years ago, when evidently was at his nadir, he confided in Mrs Vickers how the burden of his studies had him at the point of backing out.Her counsel to him to ‘hang on’ deeply affected him. She told how fortunate he was to have the opportunities the Academy offered him. Then she related how 77 years ago she was born and raised just a stone’s throw, across from the Academy, on Morgan’s Road bordering the school, where she still lives. As a young girl she always wanted to attend the school. After a dramatic pause Rowan, who is white, explained: “But she couldn’t. Because of the colour of her skin.”Mrs McCorkell handed him the graduation certificate which he presented to Mrs Vickers, inscribing her as an Honorary Graduate of the Class of 2011. The audience rose, applauding as a totally surprised Mrs Vickers went to the podium. She eloquently expressed her gratitude and enjoyment at being connected with the Academy, without the slightest trace of rancour over its policies against black people during the first three centuries of its existence.Incidentally, young Rowan Vickers not only received his graduation certificate, he was one of several students singled out for special awards. His was for Drama and The Spirit of Barber Hall Silver Bowl 2011.Decades earlier by contrast, young Jean (Joyiens) Vickers had been obliged to walk past Warwick Academy throughout her teenaged years to attend Sandys Secondary School, miles away in Somerset . She was such an outstanding student there she qualified to become the first woman member of the Bermuda Police Force. She retired 24 years later, with the rank of Inspector, having held that rank the last 12 years of her service.Mrs Vickers is really a multi-faceted woman. She was aged seven when her mother died tragically during World War Two. She was one of the passengers lost travelling home to Bermuda from Nova Scotia aboard the ship Lady Hawkins. The ship was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1942.Gardening is one of Jean’s hobbies, and her proficiency was such as to gain her employment as a part-time gardener at Coral Brach Club., until she was made redundant last November. She used to rush to Coral Beach daily for five years after her stint at the Warwick Academy crossing from 7.30 to 8.30am. Happily married for nearly 40 years to electrical contractor Darrell Vickers, she is an active member of Warwick Seventh-day Adventist Church.Emilie Bacon: In September Emilie will attend Roger Williams University to major in Business Management and minor in Environmental Studies. She has received an academic scholarship from Roger Williams.Robele Baker: Robele plans to study for a Bachelor of Science specialising in Chemistry at the University of British Colombia in Vancouver, Canada.Tyler Balcombe: in September Tyler plans to study for a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at Brock University in Canada.Taylor-Ashley Bean: Taylor will attend Virginia State University, in the US, to read General Business and Management. Taylor has won a scholarship from Virginia State University for track and field.Diamond-Lyn Binns: In September Diamond begins her undergraduate studies in Child Psychology at Kean University in the US.Megan Blee: Megan will pursue undergraduate studies in psychology at the University of Southampton in the UK.Ashby Bradshaw: In September Ashby plans to attend Worcester University in the UK to study Physical Geography.Shawnae Brangman: Shawnae will attend Jacksonville University in the US to read sociology and move into social work. She has received an academic scholarship to Jacksonville.Alexander Brown: Alex plans to attend the University of Bristol in the UK to begin his undergraduate degree in Accounting and Finance.Brooke DeSilva: In September Brooke plans to attend Mount Allison University in Canada to study for a Bachelor of Arts.Coles Diel: Coles plans to study criminology at Bermuda College before joining the Bermuda Police Service.Kara Durham: In September Kara hopes to attend Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK to read Psychology with early Childhood Studies.Courtney Fisher: Courtney will attend the University of Guelph in Canada to begin her undergraduate studies in Economics.David Franks: In September David will attend the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs in the US to read Psychology and Education.Ravenne Franks: Ravenne will begin her undergraduate studies at Bermuda College before moving to Mount Saint Vincent University to study education.Lance Fraser: In September Lance will attend Queen’s University in Canada to read Commerce.Erin Gillespie: Erin plans to study Sciences at the University of Western, Ontario in Canada.Matthew Grace: In September Matthew plans to study Jazz and Contemporary Studies at Johnson State College in the US.Benjamin Groves: Ben plants to attend the University of Central Lancashire in the UK to study Computing.Ryan Gunn: Ryan plans to attend Penn State in the US at the Berks campus to read Kinesiology.Thomas Hart: in September Tom will attend Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada to begin his undergraduate studies in History.Elijah Hassan: in September Elijah will begin his undergraduate studies at Acadia University in Canada to read Business Administration and Computer Science.Jennifer Ince: Jennifer hopes to attend City University in London, UK to read Speech and Language Therapy.Shanyce Joell: In September Shanyce will attend Mount Saint Vincent University in Canada to begin a Bachelor’s degree in Science, majoring in Psychology.Jaesharrie Johnson: Jaesharrie plans to attend the University of Kingston, London in the UK to study Business with Law.Mareliano Jones: In September Marel will either attend Acadia or Bermuda College to study Computer Science.Katrina Lavender: In September Katrina plans to study for a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology at Southampton University in the UK.Andrew Lee: In September Andrew plans to study for a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at Brock University in Canada.Justin Lee: Justin will start his undergraduate degree studying Economics at the University of British Colombia in Canada.Colin O’Neill: Colin is taking a gap year and plans to volunteer abroad, hoping for Peru. He also plans to build up an art portfolio to study video game design in Vancouver at “Van Arts”.Shana Parker: Shana is undecided about where she plans to go to college.Bryden Pedro: Bryden will attend St Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and is enrolled in Bachelor of Arts.Cordelia Philip: In September Cordelia will begin her undergraduate studies in International Relations and French at the University of Exeter in the UK.Camia Pitcher: Camia plans to study Spanish at Acadia University in Canada.Julia Scully: In September Julia will begin an undergraduate degree in English with a minor in Business at Elon University in the US.Khadijah Shakir: Khadijah plans to begin her undergraduate studies in Business at Acadia University in Canada.Jalen Simmons: in September Jalen plans to attend Acadia University in Canada to study Psychology.Shandae Simons: In September, Shandae plans to attend St Francis Xavier University, in Nova Scotia, Canada and will study for a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology.Justin Sousa: Justin will commence his undergraduate studies in Business and Management at the University of Tampa in the US. He has been awarded a scholarship from the University of Tampa.Tevis Spence: Tevis plans to study for a preliminary year at Kings before heading to The University of Western, Ontario in Canada.Sydney Tavares: Sydney starts her next course in a matter of weeks. She is enrolled to commence a Technical Theatre course as part of the ‘Makeda Trust Programme’.Kenya Thompson: Kenya plans to attend University of Kingston in the UK to study for a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.Che-lei Trott: In September Che-lei will begin her undergraduate study of Biology at the Southern Adventist University in the US.Rowan Vickers: Rowan is heading off to The Juilliard School in the US where he will begin a four-year Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Drama.Christopher West: Christopher is commencing his studies at the Berklee College of Music in the US in Songwriting and Composition.Sarah Wight: In September Sarah plans to study Environmental Sustainability at Dalhousie University in Canada.Kiwon Williams: Kiwon plans to study Kinesiology at Acadia University in Canada.