PRESS RELEASE – Nearly two dozen young scholars will be starting the 2017-2018 academic year with a renewed sense of resolve following the awarding of scholarships on Tuesday by Saint Lucia and the Caribbean’s leading telecommunications service provider, Flow.
Over the past 23 years, Flow has awarded scholarships worth more than $500,000, with over 100 students benefitting.
On Tuesday, six new awardees joined 17 existing scholarship holders, bringing the present roll to 23.
The 2017 Flow Scholarship Ceremony for secondary school recipients took place under the theme, “Striving for Excellence”. Speakers at the ceremony included Commercial Lead, Anselm Mathurin; HR Director, Joseph Augustin; and Msgr. Dr. Patrick Anthony.
The featured speaker, Msgr. Anthony, thanked Flow for supporting family development. He shared his own scholarship experience, confiding that in 1959 his mother, a market vendor, had no means to send him to school. By dint of her inspiration and his hard work, he won a scholarship to St. Mary’s College and, as he averred, the rest is history.
The veteran cleric encouraged the youngsters to believe in themselves and to aim high, noting that he had achieved great things coming from humble beginnings.
“When I grew up as a little boy at MorneAvit, Rose Hill, I used to dream of getting an education, going to St. Mary’s College, going to university and so forth. But I never dreamt that I would one day be able to travel anywhere in the world, stand shoulder to shoulder with people from any country, be proud to be Saint Lucian. And you know what? I always do, especially when I am on those international fora and so forth. To show my identity, I begin by saying ‘Bonjou, tout moun, mwen se jan Sent Lisi, I am from Saint Lucia!’”
He continued: “Be proud of who you are. You can stand shoulder to shoulder with anybody in any forum. That is the potential you have. The world is yours to conquer. Derek Walcott said that ‘My world is the imagination. The imagination has no boundaries.’ Dream. Have visions. Think of what you can become. Don’t let anybody tell you (that) you cannot become it. If you want to become an astronomer, or a physicist, or a lawyer, a doctor, a Prime Minister — whatever you want to become — let nobody tell you (that) you cannot achieve it, because you have the potential.”
In addition to the inspirational address from Msgr. Anthony, the recipients were treated to a motivational video, as well as remarks from current and former scholarship holders. Awards and cheques were presented to the recipients and their parents.
Selection for the Flow Scholarship is based on the Common Entrance Examination scores and the continued academic performance of the students over the course of their time at secondary school, combined with the job performance of their parents.
First established in 1995, the Flow Scholarship is a seven-year commitment to the recipients, inclusive of five years at secondary school and two years at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, whether or not their parents remain with the company.
New recipients for 2017 include Kiley Williams, daughter of V. Chris Williams; TaricCoureur, son of Mark Coureur; and Luanne Blanchard, daughter of Jonathan Blanchard; all of whom will attend Leon Hess Comprehensive from September. Kayla Jn. Francois, daughter of Christina James-Jn. Francois, will attend the SDA Academy, and Luisa Francis, daughter of Alice Francis, will go to Corinth Secondary.
Students already on the programme include five at St. Joseph’s Convent, four at St. Mary’s College and two each at Entrepot Secondary, Castries Comprehensive and Leon Hess Comprehensive.