ACC Powers Into the Future With Upgraded IT Lab

More than thirty years after helping Anglican Cathedral College take its first steps into the digital age, Lord Michael Ashcroft is helping the school move into the future once again. A ninety-five-thousand-dollar donation from the Waterloo Group Charitable Trust has transformed the college’s IT lab into a modern space where students can learn, research and create using upgraded technology. The refurbished facility officially opened today, marking a new chapter for technology education at the school. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Four months ago, the Waterloo Group Charitable Trust donated ninety-five thousand dollars to the Anglican Cathedral College to support the refurbishment and upgrading of its Information Technology Lab. Today, Lord Michael Ashcroft was on hand for a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the newly refurbished IT Lab.

 

Lord Michael Ashcroft, Philanthropist

“It was in 1994 which at that time, Micheal Ashcroft Foundation which turned into the Waterloo Group Charitable Trust helped establish the very first computer laboratory here at ACC College and back then a computer lab in a Belizean school was in fact a bold idea and some of the students who learned on this first machines are now parents, teachers and business leaders in the country and some of their children may even be sitting here today.”

 

Thirty-two years later, that initial philanthropic act by the foundation has come full circle. This time around, their contribution has led to a modern, spacious and efficient computer lab that will serve the institution’s students for decades to come.

 

Patrick Faber, Former Teacher, ACC

“We began by removing the old furniture built around the surrounding walls. That arrangement had served the purpose but it limited how teachers and students could use the room. We also removed the old floor tiles and addressed major leaks in the roof. Then came the technology. We purchased thirty-two new computer systems with memory ranging from twelve to thirty-two gigabyte of ram, exceeding what we had already planned, just eight gigs. Compacted with the two gigabytes laptops they replaced, these system offer a substantial improvement in the capacity available to our students. Each also two hundred and fifty-six gigabytes of storage.”

 

The mini-CPUs maximize desk space, while high detention flat screen monitors p[provide a comfortable workstation.  The new computer desks have been arranged in clusters. The lab now features laser printers and a 3D printing machine.

 

Alyssa Aguilar, ACC Student

“Having used computer lab 1 before and after its improvement I can tell you that these improvements can make a real difference to us. Before completing assignments required a lot of patients, we shared old laptops were slow, frozen unexpectedly or couldn’t always run the programs we needed.  We sometimes worried about losing our work. The room also felt crowded with  limited space. Today we walk into a lab that gives us more space, comfortable seatings and faster desktop computers.”

 

Lord Michael Ashcroft

“But what we are opening this afternoon is not really a room full of equipment, it is a place where you can learn to code, to design, to research, to write to create and more importantly to explore. It is a place where some of you will discover what you want to do with the rest of your lives.”

 

The Waterloo Group Charitable Trust says its vision is simple, to give every student at ACC the opportunity to fulfil their dreams regardless of their background, Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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