NCB awards $40 million in scholarships, grants
As the doors to the Frangipani boardroom at the Courtyard Marriott, Kingston opened on August 30th, the room was quickly filled with excitement and laughter as anxious scholars eagerly awaited their NCB reward.
It was the NCB Foundation’s 10th Annual Scholarship and Grants Awards Cocktail where more than 300 recipients were rewarded for hard work, community involvement and recognition of their indomitable fight to access higher education.
This year NCB spent more than $40 million for scholarships and grants — a $15-million increase from the $25-million donated in 2015.
The event was kicked off with an address by Ministry of Education representative Richard Troupe, who congratulated the scholars for their hard work and saluted the foundation for its efforts to provide avenues for students to gain tertiary-level training.
NCB Foundation CEO Nadeen Matthews gave an overview of the programme and later had a word of encouragement for the students. She expressed gratitude for the opportunity to make a difference in their lives, no matter their field of study.
Matthews and NCB Foundation Director Melissa Hendrickson presented the 2017 Innovative, Creative, Outstanding and Nationalistic (ICON) Scholarship to nine students pursuing non-traditional fields of study following the establishment, last year, of a special scholarship category to accommodate areas representing a paradigm shift in the Jamaican workplace.
The winners were: Chelsea Foster, Boclair Smith, E-Jon Thomas, Zavier Cheverria, Doniel Bowen, Joelle Notice, Ronaldo Ferguson, Lola Jackson, and Martina Williams. These non-traditional courses included animation, engineering, fashion designing and computer science, among others.
Presentations of the 2017 parish champion followed with a video presentation capturing the individual journeys and reactions of the 14 awardees, each representing a parish. “Thank you, NCB, for giving children like me a chance to fight for the right to receive their education,” one awardee said.
Damanelle Taylor, Janique Henry, Monique Thompson, Gaerielle Malcolm, Odane Brooks, Jordan Porter, Shaquel Tinglin, Shadae Hutchinson, Lisa Morrison, Shaneque Edwards, Marisha Williams, Randy Greaves, Patrice Smith, and Ayanna Suckoo, each received $300,000 toward tertiary education for the duration of their studies.
NCB Financial Group Chairman Michael Lee-Chin encouraged the youngsters not to shrink back out of fear, but to leave a legacy, have enduring values, aspire, be disciplined, have emotional control, be role models, be solutions-oriented, and be honest, which he said should cultivate integrity and ultimately to have perseverance, persistence and passion.
“Make sure you are passionate about everything you do and have fun!” Lee-Chin said before announcing the 2017 national champions — Marisha Williams and Lisa Morrison. Each received $500,000 towards the pursuit of a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree at The University of the West Indies for the tenure of the programme.
Matthews said, however, that the foundation could not do it on its own and explained that the investment stems from NCB’s financial progress. “The amount of money the foundation receives to be used as donations comes from a percentage of the bank’s profit and a percentage of Keycard sales. That is why it’s important for us to do well so that we can do good for others,” Matthews said.
The NCB Scholarship and Grants Programme also offered subsidies for tuition fees, educational supplies and accommodation for students at all levels.
The awards programme, said NCB, was the foundation’s primary method for delivering on its strategic objectives to increase opportunities for youth to obtain tertiary education and assist youth in active citizenship and gainful employment.
Sourced from the Jamaica Observer.
