THE UWI Open Campus has announced that two students currently undertaking studies with the Open Campus Saint Lucia have received the 2015/2016 Patricia Ismond Memorial Award.
Ms Virginia Evariste (B.Ed Literacy Studies) and Ms.Eveta Gaillard (B.Ed Secondary, English Literature) are the first two recipients of the recently inaugurated Patricia Ismond Memorial Award – a revolving scholarship created exclusively for St Lucian students wishing to pursue Literature/Literacy Studies at The University of the West Indies. Each student received an award of US$2000.00 to assist with their tuition fees.
Expressing appreciation upon receiving the award Ms Virginia Evariste said: “I was very grateful and proud to learn that I was a recipient of the Patricia Ismond Memorial Award. Prior to receiving this award, I was constantly worrying about my finances and how I would afford the fees for the completion of my studies. This award has lightened my financial burden allowing me to focus more on my studies and has inspired me to keep on working hard. Your generosity and confidence in me have inspired me to help others and give back, and I hope that one day, I too will be in a position which will enable me to assist students to achieve their educational goals. Thank you for this generous award.”
A similar sentiment was expressed by Ms Eveta Gaillard, who is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree in the Faculty of Humanities and Education. She said:
“Being awarded the Patricia Ismond Memorial Award has erased the anxieties I had about being able to finance my final semester given the financial strain I have. It is with sincere gratitude that I say thank you donors for your generous donation which will play a major role in the completion of my Bachelors of Education in Secondary English/Literature. This award will go towards paying my tuition for next semester and repaying my student loan for this semester. Once again, thank you for your kind gesture. Being awarded this scholarship surely means a lot to me.”
The scholarship is the result of a generous donation made by Ms. Esther Ismond to The University of the West Indies on Saturday March 24, 2012, on behalf of her deceased sister Patricia Anne Ismond (Ph.D). A proud daughter of the soil, born and raised in the village of Micoud, Dr. Patricia Ismond dedicated 30 years of her life to the teaching of Literature and to The University of the West Indies. She died in 2006 leaving her entire collection of over 1,000 books and 19 boxes of personal papers to The UWI Open Campus Saint Lucia. These are currently housed in the Special Collections section of the Library.
Dr.Ismond was widely regarded as a leading authority on the work of Derek Walcott and is best known for her seminal work “Abandoning Dead Metaphors – The Caribbean Phase of Derek Walcott’s Poetry”
The prestigious award forms part of the larger UWI Regional Endowment Fund (UWIREF) which facilitates collaboration between international and regional donors and The UWI, to provide support to undergraduate and graduate students based on merit and financial need as well as research and other developmental projects.