BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A continued commitment to education by the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Trading and Development Company Ltd. (TDC) has enabled four local students to benefit through the company’s Michael L. King Honorary Scholarship Grant.
A brief award presentation ceremony held last Friday (Aug. 7) brought together TDC executives, Ministry of Education officials and the student awardees. The scholarship grant is being offered for the second time this year and has received 25 applications, a remarkable increase from last year’s 16.
Through the grant, students would receive US$ 5000 for one calendar year while in attendance at university.
English Literature major Vanessa Bowry-Kelly and Management Information Systems student Sanchez Rawlins, both of St. Kitts, were two of the proud scholarship recipients. From Nevis, Karishna Tross and Amber Lescott would be able to finance their studies in the fields of Economics and International Business and Marketing, respectively.
In his overview of the grant programme, TDC Human Resources Manager Dennis Knight informed that applications were received for studies in the areas of Business Administration, Law, Medicine, Economics, Computer Science, Accounting, Sociology, Industrial Labour Relations and Early Childhood Education.
“People virtually from all walks of life are interested in securing this scholarship grant. It augers well for our communities to see that we have that varied a number of disciplines out there being taken on by our young students. It was a lot of work... in selecting the final four persons,” Knight told the gathering.
The new grant has won the favour of the Ministries of Education on both islands, and the company received high praise from education officials for its continued investment in the education of the nation’s youth.
Speaking at the ceremony, National Examination Registrar Blondell Franks stated that her ministry is pleased with the private sector involvement in education. She thanked TDC for establishing the scholarship grant, describing the programme as a “worthy contribution to these young people in particular, and to the Federation in general”.
“The scholarship and the education it helps to provide would give them important skills and tools for their future careers. As the years advance and their career develops, they should remember the people who have helped them to achieve their goal,” Franks noted.
The scholarship is offered to citizens of St. Kitts-Nevis who are normally resident in the Federation and intend to return after completion of their course of study. Students already pursuing studies must have a minimum cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.0.
