Meet the 13 Lucky Recipients of Courts’ Dare to Dream Scholarship
A group of deserving young persons from all over the country can breathe easier tonight, having secured scholarships to go on to high schools in the coming academic year. The annual award is courtesy of Courts Dare to Dream Programme. The students are assessed on a needs basis as well as on their grades. The company is also offering them a mentorship programme to ease them into school life. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
Thirteen primary school students were awarded four-year-tuition scholarships to attend the high school of their choice courtesy of Courts/Unicomer. It is part of the company’s Dare to Dream Scholarship Programme which has been ongoing for couple decades now.
Grisel Carballo, Public Relations Officer, Unicomer
“We received over sixty applications of students all over the country; of course these included just students who were recent graduates from primary school. The next step was for us to screen and we had twenty-five interviews and then we got it down to thirteen students. We wish as a company that we would be able to grant scholarships to all these deserving students, but we just could have managed to five thirteen scholarships this year.”
The children were chosen based on a list of requirements. Within those criteria was financial need as well as academic performance.
“Students would have to bring in their standard four, five and six as well as a copy of their results for P.S.E. We also require a reference letter from both a principal and a teacher and then the students are required to write a letter saying why they deserve to be under our scholarship programme. What we also do is for the parent to send in a TD-4. What this means is that we do not only base ourselves on academic performance by the kids, but also financially. Sometimes the parents are in need and the kids are not able to focus a hundred percent on their school because of financial burden.”
Today the students were given their official certificates of acceptance into the scholarship programme in the presence of their parents and the executive of Unicomer/Courts. Interestingly, there was a recipient from every district. San Jose R.C. School graduate Helarie Sub comes from Toledo and says that she wants to be a nurse. This scholarship is the beginning of that journey.
Helarie Sub, Scholarship Recipient
“My parents can’t afford the money to send me cause I already have my brother going and my sister at primary school. So I read the newspaper and I saw that Courts was giving scholarship so I decided to apply. I told myself I can never know what I can do unless I try. And so I applied; thanks to my parents, they give me passage and my parents left my application form and that’s how I did it.”
Duane Moody
“What is it that you want to be and how this will get you there?”
Helarie Sub
“I will try my best because I always dream of being a nurse to help the people.”
Twelve-year-old Courtney Young of Hope Creek, Stann Creek and thirteen-year-old Elsworth Sutherland from Orange Walk Town also have dreams, which the scholarship will help to make a reality.
Courtney Young, Scholarship Recipient
“My future high school is Stann Creek Ecumenical and what I want to be in the future is a doctor.”
Elsworth Sutherland, Scholarship Recipient
“It will help my parents financially and get me a step further in my education.”
Duane Moody
“What is it that you want to be?”
Elsworth Sutherland
“I want to be a doctor. God first, I will be a doctor.”
The scholarship also has a mentorship component where recipients will be advised by select employees at Courts over the four-year-period. Duane Moody for News Five.
Happy to know you’re helping well deserved teens. I wish Government could put some money aside to help 10 students from each district instead of pocketing the money and making shady deals to benefit themselves. Thanks Courts.