Joe Issa’s Educational Pursuit Was by Grand Design – Research

Popular Ocho Rios businessman Joe Issa majored in economics and accounting at two of the world’s most prestigious universities, but was it all part of a grand design?

Here’s how it unfolds. The Worcester Evening Gazette on May 25, 1988, reports on the graduation of 680 seniors of Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts �" its 142nd and Joe Issa is not only one of them, he is the star.

Holy Cross senior Joseph J. Issa of Kingston, Jamaica, gave the valedictory, becoming the first international student and the first economics/accounting major to be valedictorian at Holy Cross, chosen for the honor by the seniors’ Commencement Committee from among the 30 highest ranked seniors.

He became a member of several honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit honor society, and Omicron Delta Epsilon, an international honor society which elects students on the basis of outstanding ability in economics.

Issa was also selected by the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants as the most outstanding junior accounting student at Holy Cross.”

That Issa chose to excel in economics and accounting �" two of the most highly desirable disciplines needed to develop a sector �" was not by accident; nor was his choice of universities and locations �" the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE) in the United Kingdom and College of the Holy Cross in the US �" two institutions known to deliver on their promise of excellence.

Another indication of what was up his sleeve can be found in his choice of thesis: As an honors student, he chose to write his thesis on the “boom/bust” cycle inherent in the Caribbean tourist industry. This would have given him the knowledge to work with and the impetus to find solutions.

But if the above so far represent opportunity, the motive lies in the fact that there is a boom/bust cycle in Jamaica’s tourism industry that needed to be solved if the sector is to grow. This is important because the country has invested heavily in plant and manpower and is a major foreign exchange earner and provider of jobs.

That’s why it was also important to study in the US and UK where most visitors to Jamaica originate. So if the grand design was for Issa to have a successful career in tourism and business, he could not have chosen a better major, and better universities and places to pursue his quest to solve the problems facing the industry in Jamaica and the Caribbean.

The final major piece of the puzzle can be seen from the fact that Joe Issa was the 11th Crusader in his family �" but the first valedictorian, said Crossroads �" May/June 1988.

It said Issa’s grandfather and granduncle attended Holy Cross College in the 1920s; two uncles Richard and Francis graduated in the 1950s; his father John J. in 1960; his cousin, Christopher in 1978; and his twin sisters Muna and Zein in 1989 �" three generations found with involvement in the hospitality industry.

The big picture is completed by how Issa complimented his formal studies with other activities on both campuses �" Holy Cross and LSE �" to raise awareness of Jamaica as a choice destination for visitors.

 

At he hosted a radio show during which he provided tit bits on Jamaican culture and heritage while at LSE he donated a trip to Jamaica as the main prize in a raffle to raise money to buy books for Jamaican children, under a charity which he founded, along with some other Jamaicans, and which LSE took over and gave it a life of its own.

Issa was also as a comi in the kitchen and a housekeeper at the prestigious Grosvenor House hotel in London, England, also as a waiter and bartended at the Forte Hotel Village in Sardinia, Italy.

Issa returned to Jamaica to join the family business as planned. He rose through the ranks quickly to become senior vice president and his sister Zein, director-corporate marketing and environmental affairs. Zein’s twin sister Muna was treasurer while Issa’s mom Aida handled special interior design work for all resorts. His father remained chairman.

Issa spent 15 years in the family business before leaving in 2003 to establish his own.