John Michael Bodden is a second year Psychology major at South West Illinois based McKendree University. During his first semester at the institution he attained a 4.0 GPA.
He followed this up with a 3.8 GPA the following semester. His remarkable performance placed him on the President’s List and Dean List both semesters. Since then, he received an invitation to join Phi Eta Sigma Honour Society, which acknowledges academic success for first-year students.
John Michael is creating waves in both the classroom and the open seas.
He has been a member of the McKendree Swimming and Diving Team since he enrolled at the University in 2018. His brilliant performance placed him in the top 50 in the 500 freestyle in division 2 during the 2018/2019 season. He has since been named “Scholar All-American honouree” by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).
John’s swimming success did not begin at McKendree. In fact the 20 year old competed and won several medals at the 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 CARIFTA games and was named team captain in 2017. That same year, he went on to represent Cayman in the Youth Commonwealth Games and represented the Cayman Islands at both the Pan American Games and the Island Games this past summer.
Despite John’s many swimming accolades, he remains focused on his academics and looks forward to returning to the Cayman Islands as a trained Clinical Child Psychologist once he completes post-graduate studies.