Minister Highlights Scholarship Recipients

“Today I would like to celebrate and commend the recipients of the various scholarships and awards provided by the Ministry of Education,” Minister of Education Diallo Rabain said in the House of Assembly today [July 15]

“Through our mandate to support continuing education, the Ministry funds scholarships and awards, helping over 65 individuals to attend college and university. There are 9 scholarship and award categories provided by the Ministry of Education, which are in addition to those granted through the College Promise programme, administered by Bermuda College,” he added.

The Minister’s full statement follows below:

Mr Speaker,

Today I would like to celebrate and commend the recipients of the various scholarships and awards provided by the Ministry of Education.

Through our mandate to support continuing education, the Ministry funds scholarships and awards, helping over 65 individuals to attend college and university. There are 9 scholarship and award categories provided by the Ministry of Education, which are in addition to those granted through the College Promise programme, administered by Bermuda College.

Within these categories is the Bermuda Government Scholarship, our flagship scholarship, first awarded over 100 years ago, when access to college and university education was the purview of very few.

Mr. Speaker,

Today, while there is still much more to be done, significant investments continue to be made by the Government of Bermuda, the private sector and community organizations to ensure equitable access to further and higher education for Bermuda’s current and aspiring students.

As the Minister of Education for this PLP Government, I am proud to stand here today and say that despite the challenging economic times, our Scholarships and Awards budget has steadily increased to the $1.4 million dollars we see today. This represents a significant increase over the previous government’s scholarships and awards allocations, which saw one awards budget allocation go down as low as $40,000. Today that same award category is $500,000.

The current budget of $1.4 million dollars for Scholarships and Awards, combined with the $300,000 financial aid grant to Bermuda College and the College Promise Programme for CedarBridge and Berkeley Institute students, brings the allocation for students seeking funding for education close to $2 million dollars annually. This is a $1 million dollar increase in funding for our students since I first became the Minister of Education in 2017.

Mr. Speaker,

Historically, many scholarships, especially those of high financial value, were targeted toward students who demonstrated academic excellence, regardless of financial need or other barriers to the pursuit of success. The Ministry applauds students who are top in their schools and areas of study. We also recognize that all people have inherent gifts and talents and that many who have passions and interests require financial help to pursue dreams of university, college and other types of career training.

Therefore, aside from the Bermuda Government Scholarship, which is established by statute, every other scholarship and award category includes financial need as a criterion. This is to ensure that most funds are distributed to persons whose potential might not be fully realized without financial help to pursue education and training beyond senior school.

Mr Speaker,

In addition to the College Promise Programme, the Ministry grants the following scholarships and awards annually:

• 1. The Minister’s Achievement Scholarship to help high achieving graduating students of CedarBridge Academy and The Berkeley Institute attend overseas post-secondary education.

• 2. The Minister’s Exceptional Student Award for graduating students or school leavers with disabilities for local or overseas post-secondary study.

• 3. The Minister’s Technical and Vocational Award for graduating public school students or recent public school alumni attending Bermuda College for local or overseas post-secondary study.

• 4. The Minister’s Applied Science Scholarship for graduating public senior school students who attended the Applied Technology Dual Enrolment Diploma Programme with Bermuda College and who plan to continue the programme to obtain an Associate’s Degree or certificate.

• 5. The Further Education Award for current college or university students with sophomore standing for continued post-secondary study.

• 6. The Non-Traditional Student Award for persons aged 25 and over pursuing post-secondary study.

• 7. The Teacher Education Scholarship for current college or university students with sophomore standing for study of selected subjects and/or areas of teaching need in the Bermuda Public School System.

• 8. The Bermuda Government Scholarship for well-rounded senior school or college or university students up to the age of 25 who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and,

• 9. The Bermuda College Book Award provides funding for books for Bermuda College students in financial need.

Mr Speaker,

In total, over 65 individual students ranging from recent senior school graduates to older students pursuing non-traditional pathways are among our worthy recipients. I would like to highlight many of those students in a number of categories, beginning with the Minister’s Scholarships.

The Minister’s Scholarships and Awards are valued at $5,000 for local studies and up to $25,000 for overseas studies. They are tenable for the duration of the student’s full-time post-secondary programme of study, for up to four years.

The recipients are:

For the Minister’s Achievement Scholarship [$25,000 per year up to 4 years for overseas study]:

• i. D’Angele A.R. Symonds, who will attend Keele University in England, to pursue a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Science. Miss Symonds is a recent graduate of CedarBridge Academy, where she was Deputy Head Girl.

• ii. Nayasa Burgess, who will attend North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to pursue a Bachelor of Animal Science majoring in Biology. Miss Burgess graduated from The Berkeley Institute in June where she was Head Girl.

For the Minister’s Exceptional Student Award [$25,000 per year for overseas study up to 4 years and $5,000 per year for study at Bermuda College up to 2 years]:

• i. Iziah Tucker, who graduated from Bermuda College’s Culinary Arts Programme in May and is an alumnus of The Berkeley Institute. He will attend Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, Ontario, to pursue a Diploma in Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyle Promotion.

For the Minister’s Technical and Vocational Award [$25,000 per year for overseas study up to 4 years and $5,000 per year for study at Bermuda College up to 2 years]:

• ii. Roneeya Jones, who graduated from Bermuda College with an Associate Degree in Science [Pre-Health] in May 2022. She is an alumna of The Berkeley Institute and will enter Winston-Salem University, USA, with advanced standing.

For the Minister’s Applied Science Scholarship [5 awards for $5,000 for study at Bermuda College tenable for 1 year]:

• iii. Aaron-Claude White, who graduated from CedarBridge Academy in June 2022. He was a dual enrolment student and will continue his studies through the Associate of Applied Science [Plumbing Technology] programme at Bermuda College.

Other recipients that I am proud to announce to this House are:

For the Non-Traditional Student Award [$20,000 per year for overseas study up to 4 years]:

• i. Akelah Hendrickson, an alumna of Bermuda College, will attend the University of Wolverhampton in England to pursue a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mental Health.

• ii. Amber Douglas is a current student at Ryerson University in Canada pursuing a Bachelor of Human Resource Management Degree. In 2021, she graduated with an Associate of Arts Degree in Business Administration from Bermuda College and, in 2019, received a Certificate in Human Resources Management and General Management.

For the Teacher Education Scholarships [$20,000 per year for overseas study up to 4 years]:

• i. Malay Robinson, who will enter Kean University to pursue a major in English [K through 12] Teacher Education [B.A.]. She is a 2020 graduate of The Berkeley Institute, where she was Head Girl. She graduated from Bermuda College in May 2022, receiving an Associate’s Degree.

• ii. Tamara Simmons, who is an alumna of CedarBridge Academy and the Bermuda College, where she received an Associate of Science Degree in Education. She will complete a Postgraduate Certificate in Education in England before undertaking studies towards becoming a special education teacher.

• iii. Aaliyah Lee, an alumna of The Berkeley Institute and Bermuda College, graduated with an Associate of Arts Degree. She will attend Kean University to become a teacher of Spanish.

These Teacher Education Scholarships are given to candidates pursuing initial teacher training who, as a condition of their scholarships, will be employed in public schools to educate and support public school students in subject and teaching areas of great need to the public education system.

Mr Speaker,

The Ministry awarded a total of 50 Further Education Awards, including 10 awards for students pursuing graduate studies. While Further Education Awards and other scholarships and awards are primarily given to students pursuing undergraduate study to assist persons in getting a first college or university degree, the Ministry is doing what it can to support students undertaking graduate studies.

These awards will provide funding for 1 year of study at a value of up to $10,000. Time does not permit me to name each recipient, but they too are saluted for their perseverance towards the completion of their undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Mr Speaker,

Bermuda Government Scholarships are awarded annually to the most deserving candidates recommended by the Board of Education. Each Bermuda Government Scholarship recipient receives funding towards the cost of tuition and accommodation up to $35,000 per year for up to four years.

I am pleased to share with this House, that this year’s recipients of the Bermuda Government Scholarship are:

• i. Jerzi Riley, a 2022 graduate of Saltus Grammar School, will attend the University of Central Florida, USA to pursue a Bachelor of Actuarial Science Degree. She was a prefect and recipient/winner of the Denton Hurdle Award.

• ii. Giovanni Hollis, is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering at Northeastern University in Boston, where he was on the Dean’s list and participated in several leadership experiences with various companies in the United States. He graduated from Warwick Academy.

Bermuda College Book Awards are determined by the Bermuda College closer to the start of the academic year.

Mr Speaker,

I would like to thank the Chairpersons and members of the Minister’s Scholarships and Awards Committee, the Board of Education’s Scholarship Committee, and the scholarship and awards team within the Ministry of Education Headquarters.

The time of Chairpersons and other Committee members is volunteer-based because they care deeply about young people, contributing to Bermuda’s educational and social development.

Before closing, I would also like to thank our recipients and other applicants for continuing to push forward through these difficult times. I encourage them to continue working towards their dreams and aspirations.

I kindly ask Members of this Honourable House to support my commendation not only of the recipients but of all persons and organizations that have helped them on their pathway towards continuing success.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

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