BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE names of four more local students have been engraved on the history halls of TDC’s Scholarship Programmes as the Michael L. King Honorary Scholarship Grant continues to provide financial support for university students.
In a brief presentation ceremony held yesterday (Jul. 14) at TDC’s Training Room, Human Resources Manager Dennis Knight announced the names of two Kittitians and two Nevisians who were selected for the honorary grant from a list of some 30 applicants. Kishmoe Cornelius and Randolph Prenctice, both of St. Kitts, were honoured with the memorial TDC grant along with Nevisians Kamesha Sutton and Ramie Wilkinson. The four local scholars are recipients of the third annual cycle of the scholarship grant, which gives much-needed financial support in students’ pursuit of higher education.
Applicants are required to maintain a minimum cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.0 or higher and must demonstrate exemplary scholarship to receive a one-time scholarship of US$5 000 to last one calendar year.
This is a commitment TDC prides itself in, and, according to company Chairman Michael Morton, the third annual presentation ceremony marked “another significant milestone in the life of TDC”.
“These grants signify TDC’s continued contributions to nation-building and more specifically, our ongoing commitment to the field of education. At this time in our country’s development, education is of paramount importance...I therefore pledge the continued support of our company in this endeavour and I want to challenge the authorities to develop new and creative initiatives in which the private sector can participate and support such movements.
“Together,” Morton added, “I believe we can confront the ills that we face as a society.”
The recipients were challenged to take the responsibility to lead and liberate the country from what Morton deemed a “cycle of crime and poverty”. He said as education liberates the poor, so too should the recipients liberate the nation by playing a key leadership role.
Both Cornelius and Prentice are pursuing degrees at the Florida Memorial University in the areas of Management Information Systems and Marketing respectively. Sutton is after a Business Administration degree at Cameron University while Wilkinson is expected to complete her degree in the area of Economics and Finance at the same institution.
TDC came in for high praises from Education Officer Michael Blake, who stressed the need for continued partnership between the private and public sector, noting that TDC has an exemplary reputation in this regard.
“Our aims and objectives, no matter how lofty or noble, will never be accomplished if we do not have active involvement from our corporate sponsors, and TDC has been one of the leading agents in that respect. TDC has provided tangible assistance in very concrete ways...
“TDC has shown itself to be a genuine, active real partner and the Ministry of Education is eternally grateful for that because we endeavour to provide a certain quality of education for our students and citizens. We also want to insist that the vision that TDC has for facilitating growth and development among young people has been translated into action and that is what we like,” Blake said at yesterday’s ceremony.
This year’s recipients bring to 12 the total number of students to benefit from this scholarship grant, and Morton said he expects them to return to the Federation to make a significant contribution to national development.
