BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MINISTER OF LABOUR, Hon. Vance Amory has urged Jamourne Alford, Brucia Nolan, Kamil Wilkin and Krystan Springette – the awardees of the 2017 TDC Michael L. King Scholarship - to take their studies serious and return to develop St. Kitts and Nevis.
Providing the keynote address at a simple ceremony today (Aug. 2) in the Conference Room of TDC Head Office, Amory told the four students - three female and one male - that their country needs them, and as a result they are being impelled to take their studies seriously.
The scholarship programme, which has been around for 10 years, gives students the opportunity to pursue studies overseas with the view of returning on completion to develop St. Kitts and Nevis.
Amory however stated that though many scholars would have travelled overseas on family commitment, most of them had sought to take opportunities offered in “greener pastures”.
He stressed the fact that the country needs the ideas honed and experimented with by those students while studying abroad.
The Labour Minister stated that the Federation needs the skills and talent in order to be further developed.
“There is the temptation to remain overseas because the market and the pasture seem greener. But I would tell you that when I go out and listen to most of the people, there are the few who have done very well, but there is the bulk who do have significant challenges in the countries overseas which seems to be much greener and brighter.”
Amory noted that the investment in education would provide a long-term benefit not only for the individual or group making such financial commitments, but also the country at large.
The scholarship opportunities were split across the islands, with both St. Kitts and Nevis receiving equal opportunities.
Jamourne Alford and Brucia Nolan hail from St. Kitts, with the latter attending the University of the West Indies to study for an Undergraduate Degree in Economics, while the former will be attending the University of the Virgin Islands for a degree in Accounting.
Kamil Wilkin and Krystan Springette are from Nevis, with the former attending the University of the West Indies with a focus on Accounting and the latter at Midwestern State University to study Special Education.
The ceremony also saw remarks given by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, William Hodge; TDC’s Chairman Earle Kelly; and TDC’s Human Resource Manager, Gloria Robinson.
