Samples of finalist submissions from the 2025 FCCA Foundation Poster Competition, featuring artwork by junior and senior students representing destinations across the Caribbean and Latin America.
FLORIDA--St. Maarten students Kayra Balani of St. Joseph School and Evan Reniier Amatdjais of Milton Peters College are amongst the winners in the 2025 FCCA Foundation Children’s Essay and Poster Competitions.
Balani (12) took second place in the junior essay division, while 15-year-old Amatdjais claimed first place in the senior poster division, bringing awards to their schools and recognition to St. Maarten.
FCCA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, announced the winners on December 19, 2025. The annual competitions invited students from across the Caribbean and Latin America to submit essays and posters, with awards granted to both the students and their schools to support educational development.
“There is nothing more fulfilling than helping children, and I am proud of all the ways the FCCA Foundation achieves this,” said FCCA Chief Executive Officer Michele Paige. “The competitions are particularly special because it directly benefits children’s futures and encourages them to continue striving in their scholastic endeavours, while helping their schools develop even more exceptional students.”
Schools submitted finalists to represent their destinations, with one finalist per age group allowed. The junior division included students ages 9-12, and the senior division included students age 13-16. Submissions were reviewed by a six-member judging panel, and scores were averaged to determine the winners.
In addition to the St. Maarten winners, the junior essay division recognized first-place winner Diego Hernando González García of Padson International School in Mexico and third-place winner Lendre Pemberton of St. Vincent Grammar School in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In the senior essay division, first place went to Ta’Mya Davis of Charlotte Amalie High School in the U.S. Virgin Islands, second place to Kiara Kwenga of Christ the King High School in Antigua and Barbuda, and third place (tie) to Sigourney Flowers of Belize High School and Jennaya Bonadie of St. Vincent Girl’s High School.
The junior poster division saw first-place honours go to Alaina Johnson of St. Mary’s Catholic School in Grenada, second place to Laila Alleyne of Springer Memorial Secondary School in Barbados, and third place to Malachi Simmons of Bequia Anglican Primary School in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Amatdjais’s first-place win in the senior poster division was followed by second-place Amelia Edwards of St. Joseph Convent St. George in Grenada and a tie for third place between Colleen Villanueva of Cayman Academy in the Cayman Islands and Gayoung Yeon of Jean Piaget in Mexico.
The prize structure for both competitions awards first-place students a laptop and their schools US $3,000, second-place students a touchscreen device and their schools $1,500, and third-place students a touchscreen device and their schools $1,000. All remaining finalists from each country receive a $200 recognition award. The awards will be formally presented during Seatrade Cruise Global 2026.
https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/two-st-maarten-students-among-winners-in-2025-fcca-foundation-competitions
