By Denise Clarke, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
TWENTY-ONE STUDENTS from across Jamaica have been awarded scholarships from the Sandals hotel group to fund their secondary education.
The awards were presented at a special ceremony on Monday, held at Sandals Montego Bay.
Five of the awardees were successful in this year's Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), while the others are already attending high school. In his address, Gordon 'Butch' Stewart, Chairman of the Sandals group, charged the students to work hard, and not to take for granted the fact they are scholarship winners.
"A lot of people believe that because it's a corporation you have never-ending money to pay for different things, that's not the case. A lot of people have collectively worked to generate the money so that an organisation like Sandals can turn around and provide opportunities like this," Mr. Stewart stressed.
Each scholarship is valued at $600,000 and will cover books and tuition, and some personal needs. To retain the scholarship, the students have to maintain a B+ average, be disciplined and well-mannered, and must show evidence of continued improvement in their performance.
"This particular programme is about the future," said Leo Lambert, Director of Corporate Communications at Sandals. "It's about giving some youngsters who are bright and talented an opportunity to make a difference tomorrow."
One of the awardees, Kameka Harris, was receiving the scholarship for the seventh year in a row, this time to pursue A levels at the Montego Bay Community College. Ms. Harris is a past student of the Mount Alvernia High School in St. James, where she was successful in eight CXC and GCE subjects, five of which she passed with distinction. She is also the winner of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools award for gaining the best overall average in vocational subjects islandwide.
A special award was presented to Mario Gordon, a 10th grade student at the Rusea's High School in Hanover, for being the top male performer among the awardees for the second year in a row. Mario has maintained a 75.4 per cent average, passing all eight academic subjects he sat this year. He also has 'O' level passes with distinction in Human and Social Biology and Principles of Business, which he sat in the ninth grade. He is awaiting results for two other examinations he took this year. In addition to his award, Mario was also presented with a weekend prize for a family of four at Beaches Boscobel.
The scholarship programme was started seven years ago as one of the group's community outreach projects. A total of 83 students have benefited since its inception.
