COURTNEY Sappleton takes every opportunity he gets to utilise his artistic talents.

It is the reason the 39-year-old business manager for Springburn House, a 14-room hotel operated by the Meadowbrook United Church, agreed to go on secondment to the International University of the Caribbean (IUC) as a graphic artist and research writer.

Now almost a year later, he’s been named the IUC’s top performer for 2010.

“We had a mandate earlier this year to kind of rebrand IUC in terms of the logo and presence in the tertiary education marketplace. I was co-opted as part of the marketing team, revamping a lot of the collateral material that the IUC has and (dealing with) the branding in terms of the logo and some of the visual cues that the public sees. I also cover a lot of the functions in terms of photography,” Sappleton said of his current responsibilities.

“I enjoy my work immensely. Underneath the organised side of me (and) the attention to detail, I am really an artist at heart, so any opportunity I have to do stuff in that regard — to bring out my artistic side and to make better what is around me — I enjoy doing that,” added the man, who has freelanced as a graphic artist for the last 15 years.

“I was very pleased to be able (to join the team at IUC). I am enjoying it a whole lot in terms of the photography, the graphics, the events planning, and the marketing,” he said further.

Sappleton, a married father of three, holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a specialisation in project management, from Mel Nathan College, a constituent college of IUC. He also holds a diploma in business administration from the Caribbean Institute of Economics, a certificate in radio broadcasting and presenting from the University of the West Indies and a certificate in advanced computer graphics from the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. He is also an ACCA (Association of Certified Chartered Accountants) accounting technician.

His supervisor, Julie Newton, who is assistant vice-president of communication and student services at IUC, has lauded his work ethic.

“He is a meticulous worker. He pays attention to detail; he spends a lot of time to get it right. He is extremely creative and talented and very bright in the variety of talents he brings. He singes very well. He does photography. He does graphics and he writes poetry. And he has the degree in business administration with a slant to project management,” she told Career & Education. “In terms of inter-personal skills, he gets along with everyone… He also takes criticism well and improves based on what you say to him.”

Newton noted that the IUC had selected Sappleton as their top performer as he embodies the best of what ICU represents.

“While I am sure we could have found somebody in senior management, I felt that in choosing Mr Sappleton, we were selecting somebody who embodies who we are. He is a product of the institution as well; he studied with us, then came back to work with us. He is our product and we are happy to have him,” she said.

Meanwhile, quizzed as to whether he considered himself a top performer, Sappleton had this to say: “I really don’t see myself as a top performer. I just do what I do.”

Still, he admitted he is “honoured” to be so recognised.

“I am honoured that I would be thought of in that way. I really just like to get stuff done… I like an opportunity to change what is around me for the better. So the opportunity I have to reposition ICU in the marketplace, along with the team, I regard as a coveted one. I would jump at it if I had to again,” he said.

— Petre Williams-Raynor