Irvine’s cross-cultural activities were heightened at the University of Alberta as an undergraduate where he lived with Hindus from India, Moslems from Pakistan, Buddhists from Japan, Zoroastrians, Bhai’s, Atheists, and a few committed Christians in the Student Christian Movement, all of whom seemed better prepared for higher education than he was.
Irvine graduated from the University of Alberta with a bachelor’s degree in economics and his first Job was as Research Economist with British Columbia Central Credit Union in Vancouver, Canada. Interestingly, not once in his undergraduate life does he remember any mention being made of Credit Unions. Fortunately, his General Manager at B.C. Central took Irvine under his wing, and after one year Irvine became Investments Manager, where he served for three years before going to Graduate School at The University of British Columbia.
Vancouver in general and U.B.C. in particular deeply exposed Irvine to multiculturalism, in daily life, in business, and in academics. Irvine graduated with the master’s in business administration from U.B.C. His chief mentor and Thesis Advisor was Professor Whata Winniata, a Māori from New Zealand, and the Chair of the Faculty Committee ruling on the acceptability of his Thesis was Professor Leslie Wong, a Chinese scholar, and head of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
Citi Bank of New York hired Irvine out of Graduate School for its International Division, and after training for six months in New York City posted him in Jamaica. His Mission was to find potential millionaires and make them Citi Bank Clients. Irvine found many, from all cultures, coached them, loaned them the Bank’s money and had a great impact on the development of the emerging Jamaica nation. There was no greater place than Jamaica to observe and partner with the different peoples of the world, competing and cooperating for personal and national enrichment.
What makes Irvine Weekes our Principal so unique? His educational path, his business experiences, his life experiences, and his ability to overcome challenges. Irvine was educated in Barbados, The University of Alberta, Canada, B.A. (Econ.), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, M.B.A., Clayton State University, Morrow, Georgia, U.S.A., M.H.A. (master’s in health administration). He has operated at the highest levels of business from Banking and Finance to Manufacturing, to Agribusiness, to Insurance, to the Trucking Industry, to Church Administration, and from the shop floor to the Board Room. From ownership of a million-dollar operation to its collapse. He has fought his way back with poise and assurance, always with the assurance that as a child of God, he was not alone. Irvine gained his Certificate in Life Coaching from Light University in Virginia, U.S.A., and is a member of the International Christian Coaching Association.
