Keishawn Roye, a St. John's College graduate is one of 433 incoming and current College of The Bahamas (COB) students who were awarded $5,000 annual scholarships to attend COB this fall, representing a 15 percent increase in the amount of award recipients last year.
According to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, 110 public school graduates, 236 independent high school graduates and 87 current College of The Bahamas students would benefit from this year's bursary award. He said $2.1 million was paid to COB to benefit deserving students. Scholarship recipients had either obtained a minimum of five Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) passes with a grade of "C" or above, with mathematics and English language a compulsory requirement; or maintained a grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 and above at COB. Students enrolled at COB must pursue 15 or more credits and maintain a GPA of 3.00 or higher to retain the scholarship.
For Roye, the second of three children, the scholarship means his parents will not have to stress to find the funds for him to attend college. "I eagerly look forward to be mentored by some of the greatest lecturers and professors at COB," said Roye who will study biology. The education minister encouraged the students to make the most of their opportunity at COB and contribute to COB's legacy of excellence. "You are entering this institution at a time when great changes are taking place -- changes in which you will be involved.
Note that when you complete your time here, you will graduate from The University of The Bahamas," he said. COB President Dr. Rodney D. Smith reflected on the financial assistance he received from the government as a young high school graduate years ago. "I too received a government scholarship like you, and like more than 50 percent of you in here today I was a first generation college student. So from Eastern Prep on Shirley Street, to Eastern Junior School, Eastern Senior School, to St. Augustine's, to St. John's University in Minnesota to Harvard University where I got my second master's and doctorate degree, the sky is not the limit for you.
Anything you set your mind to do, you will do," said Smith. "The bursary affords many students the opportunity to attend COB, who may not have otherwise been able to afford it," said COB Registrar Dr. Marcella Elliott-Ferguson, a National Bursary Scholars committee member. "For COB, this directly and positively impacts our student enrolment. The criteria may appear to be stringent, but this award encourages and rewards excellence. Our young students compete for the top spots in academics. It promotes the idea of what it means to be a scholar in our nation," she said.
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