For the past ten years Digicel has been leaving its mark on the education of students and it continues to do so in 2019 with its annual scholarship programme. This year, Digicel awarded the remaining nine students out of an initial twenty the continuity of their scholarship contract as they progressed into fifth form.
“Our scholarships came in the form of cash which covered expenses such as uniform and books. Additionally we also provided students with notebooks. For this scholarship program, the criteria was that the student had to maintain a 65% overall average for the continuity of the scholarship”, Digicel St. Lucia CEO, Siobhan James-Alexander commented.
James-Alexander also noted that although a few students did not obtain the required average required by the terms of the scholarship, they were still rewarded a percentage of the scholarship given that their overall average did not go below the 50% mark: “The grades are important and the grades were definitely a big determinant in who would continue receiving the full scholarship. Essentially, we wanted to highlight the notion, hard work gets rewards and as a result you reap the benefits. However, we did not want to completely strip away the scholarship from the remaining students hence we gave them a partial scholarship”.
She further commented that Digicel seeks to help students especially those in communities which are often in need of financial assistance, “We also take into consideration both our staff pool and persons in need within communities who may be struggling financially”.
James-Alexander remarked that Digicel is very appreciative of the support they’ve received from customers and want to continue giving back “We hope that in the years to come that we can continue giving back to our customers and continue making strides in key aspects such as education, sports and youth development in Saint Lucia.”
The scholarship program serves as an outlet to give back to the community and according to James-Alexander, “we are hoping to continue awarding more students with scholarships and not only that, but continue with them throughout the five years academic period”.