PACT awards university scholarships
On Friday, the Protected Areas Conservation Trust held ceremonies at the University of Belize in Belmopan where it awarded eleven Belizean students with scholarships for graduate and undergraduate studies at home and abroad. According to PACT training officer, Nikki Tillett, the programme is an effort to ensure the continued protection of Belize’s environment.
Nikki Tillett, Training Officer, PACT
?PACT, which was established in 1996, is the regulatory body for funding of protected areas and it?s important for us to secure the next generation of young Belizeans who are going to work and protect our natural resources. So far we?ve put in about three hundred thousand dollars since the inception of the programme, which was in 2002 until now 2005.?
Christine Valerio, PACT Scholarship Recipient
?I will be going to do my Bachelors in Natural Resources Management; so I?m all for the bush.?
?There?s a lot of candidates who apply for this scholarship and only the fortunate will get it, and I guess I was fortunate enough to get it along with twelve other candidates and I?m extremely, extremely grateful because this one is for my mother. She has done a lot for me and for me to be able to give back to her without having her to pay for the stuff, I?m extremely grateful.?
Other recipients include U.B. students Abigail Parham and Victor Alegria, who received full scholarships for Bachelor degrees. Raul Chun, Carla Paulino, and Lyndon Rodney are on partial scholarships, also at U.B.. Glen Enriquez, Allen Genus, and Celi Cho will pursue degrees with a partial scholarship at Galen University in the Cayo District. Going abroad are Christine Martinez, who was awarded a full scholarship to Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada; Jose Awe, studying at Georgia State University in the United States on a partial scholarship; while Jonathan Urbina will be attending Murray State University in Kentucky, also on partial funding.
Meanwhile, six other Belizeans will continue their education, this time courtesy of the Organization of American States. Recipients include Jorge Cawich, who will pursue a Doctorate in natural resources in Costa Rica. Janine Castillo and Anna Marie Williams are heading to Jamaica for Masters degrees in Social Work, while in the United States Elvis Nunez will work towards a Bachelors in Marine Science and Angeline Valentine and Serjio Magana undertake Masters degrees in natural resource policy, and education respectively.
O.A.S. scholarship extensions were also granted to Nahir Habet, Swale Nunez, Breandon Raymond, and Jane Ellen Usher, all pursuing Bachelor degrees. According to a press release from the Ministry of National Development, the awards are based on national priority and financial need. The total value of the scholarships is estimated at five hundred and thirty thousand Belize dollars.
