Two Belizeans grab prestigious U.W.I. scholarships

Belizeans have once again made a mark on the international scene, this time by securing two open scholarships from the University of the West Indies. The lucky recipients are Stevanni Duncan and Wilhelm Swan, both graduates of St. John’s College Junior College. Duncan and Swan were just two of over five thousand applicants from across the Caribbean competing for only fifty-five awards. According to future lawyer Stevanni Duncan, when she got the news she was ecstatic.

Stevanni Duncan, U.W.I. Scholarship Recipient
?Overwhelmed, running up and down the house screaming. It?s just one of those feelings that only ketch you one time in your life, just really excited.?

Kendra Griffith, Reporting
?Were you expecting it??

Stevanni Duncan
?No, definitely not. When I went to take the exam, and I saw the numbers that were out there to take the exam, and I know a lot of the people, so I know they are really smart. I didn?t really think I?d get it. I just took it hoping like everybody else.?

?I just want to go there and get the skills that I need to come back here and help Belize. That?s my main objective, to come back here and try to rectify the Belizean society.?

The scholarship covers tuition, books, accommodation and miscellaneous fees. Duncan leaves the country on August eighteenth for Barbados where she will pursue a degree in law at the Cave Hill campus. As for Wilhelm Swan, he is currently studying in Cuba, but will be taking up the U.W.I. scholarship to study medicine at the Mona campus in Jamaica, either this year or next. The U.W.I. scholarships are not awarded on the basis of quotas for each country, but instead go to those students achieving the highest scores from among all those taking the exam. That for two years running Belizeans have nailed down two scholarships is considered a major feat of academic excellence.