Mary Cooper and Leslie Musgrove are the first Bahamians to officially become employees of the Ross University Medical School Bahamas campus.

Cooper was hired on September 18 as administrative assistant to Campus Adminis-trator John Daley, joining Ross in a critical role involving coordination, organization and communication.

"I am extremely excited and happy to be starting with such a respected educational institution such as Ross University," Cooper said. "I feel that the university will prove to be a valuable asset to the island of Grand Bahama as it will boost our economy and bring hope and opportunity to so many. Professionally, I feel Ross will take my career to a higher level in due course."

Musgrove joined Ross on September 22 as the off-site housing coordinator, which was described as the critical job of helping oversee the programs that will facilitate staff and students in meeting their housing needs.

"Being one of the first local Bahamian employees of Ross University is a privilege and an honour. Ross University has opened doors in my life and will do the same for so many others to come. I enjoy working with my peers and am happy to be a part of such an important milestone for The Bahamas," said Musgrove.

Describing the quality of The Bahamas workforce is impressive, Regional Director of Human Resources Anne Bergen-Taylor added, "We need a wide variety of administrative skill sets, from IT technicians to support for medical faculty, and in almost every case, we are finding qualified candidates to consider.

"While senior academic administrators and medical school faculty will largely come from outside the country, because of the extremely specialized requirements for these positions, we anticipate that almost all other positions will be filled from the local workforce."

In the coming weeks additional employees will be hired. Hiring will continue through January when the interim campus at Sea Horse Plaza opens for students and the full staff of 42 faculty and staff are on-board.

The public is advised that job applications will only be received online (electronically) at http://www.rossu.edu/med, and unsolicited applications will not be received. Persons need only check the Ross website for complete information on job availability. As new jobs become available, they will also be advertised in local media.