Scholarship recipients urged to excel in academics

St Vincent Building and Loan Association (SVBLA) is committed to the development of the nation through its youth.

Four students benefitted from this on Wednesday, when they were presented with five-year scholarships from the institution.{{more}}

In his address at the small ceremony, chief executive officer Richard Branch noted that SVBLA is “more than happy and pleased to be a part of their development.”

Branch encouraged the students to do their best and excel, much like a past scholarship holder, Richard John, who topped the results for this country in the 2014 CSEC/CXC examinations.

John, a former St Vincent Grammar School student, earned 13 grade ones and a grade two for the fourteen subjects he sat.

“We are very, very fortunate to have been a part of his academic upbringing in terms of the scholarship provided over the years,” the CEO said.

“We plead with the new scholarship awardees that they will try to emulate what Richard has done and in the next five years, we can see these four students here even topping Richard, if that is possible.”

Camille Crichton, the vice-president of the SVBLA, also encouraged parents to support their children.

Making reference to the terms and conditions of the scholarships, Crichton urged students to aim for top marks in their school work.

“We also hope and pray that parents – it is not just students, but parents also have a responsibility to ensure that the students keep at their books,” the vice- president said.

“We expect that they would try as hard as possible to maintain A in all subjects.”

Crichton stressed that good grades are key to furthering one’s education and cautioned that if scholarship recipients fall below a certain grade, scholarships may be taken away from them.

Parents of the recipients extended words of gratitude to the SVBLA and pledged to ensure that their children excel in their school work.

A total of four scholarships – two merit scholarships and two for underprivileged students – were presented. Merit scholarship recipients will receive a total of $12,000 over a five-year period, while underprivileged scholarship recipients will receive a total of $5,000 over the five-year period.

Recipients are expected to maintain a B+ average throughout their secondary education and scholarships may be extended for two years if students are successful at the CSEC examinations and wish to attend the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College.

John, who will be attending the St Vincent Community College, also benefitted from a scholarship on Wednesday.

The four new scholarship recipients were Adia Holder, Zenika Chance, Sorhea Jackson and Nathaniel Williams.(BK)