In a year of unprecedented events, including a one in a 101 year coronavirus pandemic that has shuttered major industries and crippled economies around the world, some parents and students have attached greater meaning to receiving scholarships to pursue an education.
For Marshalee Powell, a single mother, who lost her job in the tourism sector in March, as COVID-19 literally stopped global travel and starved the local tourism industry, her daughter’s award of a scholarship by the JN Foundation, means much more now than it perhaps would have pre-COVID-19.
There has been an 84.5 per cent decline in tourism since the pandemic, and although an opening of the borders in July resulted in some relief for hotels, the recent rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths in Jamaica have triggered trip cancellations.
“Getting this scholarship is a big deal. I’m overjoyed,” Powell said, adding that she was optimistic that her daughter would have been awarded the scholarship due to her consistent high academic performance.
Her 11-year-old, Arriana Hewitt, a former student of Black River Primary and Infant School in St Elizabeth, achieved a placement score of 345 in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exams to earn a place at Hampton High School also in the parish. She is equally overjoyed about the scholarship award and vowed to continue her high academic performance at her new school.
The scholarship award was similarly meaningful for another parent, Shaine Buchanan. She too was laid off from her job in the hotel industry in March. She resumed work at the end of July, but with reduced pay.
“I’m very delighted,” she exclaimed. “With everything which has happened since COVID-19, the scholarship will help to finance my son when he returns to school in September. I was wondering, how I was going to pay his tuition. However, the Lord heard my prayers,” she related.
Her 12 year-old Jonathan Buchanan, has been a consistent saver over the years, a virtue she strived to inculcate in him.
“He believes in being wealthy, therefore, he is building wealth from now,” she pointed out about her son, who is also a JN Bank Schools’ Savers Programme participant.
Johnathon, who topped his class every year at George Headley Primary in Kingston, concurred.
“You don’t know what will happen in the future, therefore, you need to save from now,” he asserted, adding that he hopes to purchase a house when he becomes an adult. Jonathan, who achieved a placement score of 337.9 will be attending Campion College in St Andrew in September.
Shanna Kaye Wright Vaughn, youth banking officer with oversight of the JN Schools’ Savers Programme at JN Bank, commended Jonathan and other JN Foundation Scholarship recipients for the serious approach taken towards savings. It will help them to establish a solid financial future when they become adults she said.
“A habit, whether it’s good or bad, usually doesn’t take much effort. It is based on that reason why we place so much emphasis on financial literacy for children, from a tender age. They will have the opportunity to start and maintain a savings habit from now. We have seen the evidence that children, who develop a savings habit early, become more responsible about money management later in their lives,” she informed.
Thirty-five students have been awarded five-year scholarships by the JN Foundation, in recognition of their outstanding performance in this year’s PEP assessment. The cohort consists of one recipient from each parish and county, while 18 are children of employees of The Jamaica National Group.
At the same time, more than 100 other students, who are at various stages in their five-year scholarship award, will have their scholarship renewed for the new school year.
In addition to the PEP scholarship awards this year, 16 students at the tertiary level, attending The University of the West Indies, the University of Technology, Jamaica, the Northern Caribbean University, and the University College of the Commonwealth, will receive financial assistance to pursue their studies.
With the exemption of the scholarship award to the University College of the Commonwealth (UCC), which is reserved for a JN employee, The JN Foundation’s one-year tertiary scholarship can be accessed through the scholarship office at the respective universities mentioned.
