BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - FOUR college attendees have been added to the TDC Group of Companies' partners, having received the Michael L. King Honorary Scholarship Grant for 2013.
In a brief ceremony held yesterday morning (July 19) at the TDC Training Room, the four awardees, who are all pursuing Undergraduate studies, were presented with US$5 000 each, which is expected go towards their academic expenses.
The awardees for 2013 are: Jacqueline Bryan who is pursuing studies in International Relations/Political Science at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica; Josh Kelly who is studying Economics at the University of the West Indies in Barbados; Venelle Powell who is pursuing Pharmacology at the University of Technology in Jamaica; and Shelisia Glasford who is studying in the Tourism/Hospitality field at the Cesar Ritz Colleges in Switzerland.
Chairman of the Michael L. King Scholarship Committee Dr. Clive Ottley gave an overview of the Grant and the criteria that one must meet in order to be qualified.
The Scholarship is intended to assist students desirous of pursuing university studies at the Undergraduate and Post Graduate levels in areas including Business Management, Economics, Information Technology, Accounting, Architecture, Agriculture, Engineering and Pharmacology.
Well wishes, congratulatory remarks and words of encouragement were given to the awardees by past awardee Vanessa Kelly-Bowry and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education Ionie Liburd-Willett.
Also addressing the awardees and other specially invited guests was TDC's Chairman Michael Morton who, in congratulating the scholars, described them as partners rather than just scholarship recipients.
He spoke passionately about the importance of education and how one's investment in it impacts greatly on society.
He told the young college students that the Scholarship Grant is more than an investment, as it is also a partnership which is something that the TDC Group of Companies has been doing for years and is very proud of.
"With the award of these Scholarship Grants this morning, you - Jacqueline Bryan, Shelisia Glasford, Josh Kelly and Venelle Powell – have become our four newest partners. What better way for us to invest in our future than to invest in the education of our youth," he stated.
Morton added that with the inclusion of the awards, the total investment through the Scholarship Grant now stands at EC$324 000 which, he said, is a significant contribution to the development of the Federation.
"As we celebrate this our Ruby Anniversary, we therefore encourage all our citizens to adopt that true spirit of partnership, patriotism, entrepreneurship and hard work that has allowed our company to prosper and which has put our nation on the road of development.
"We encourage investment in our people, especially our young minds. In this way, we will not only proudly celebrate our legacies but we would have gone a long way towards securing a brighter future," he added.
The Scholarship Grant is in its fourth year and was named in honour of Michael L. King, a past Chairman of the TDC Group of Companies who is said to have always talked about studying and the importance of education.
Michael King was always described as a person who recognised the great value of education and encouraged all those around him to improve their skills and their knowledge.
The award is open to citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis who are normally resident in the Federation and intend to return after completion of their course of study.
