St. Augistine's College valedictorian Nia Cambridge, 17, is one of approximately 100 graduates that applied for consideration for the All Bahamas Merit Scholarship. The list has been whittled down to 17 who have all been interviewed by the selection committee. The winner of the $140,000 scholarship is expected to be announced in a matter of days. (Photo: Nia Cambridge)
From a field of approximately 100 applicants, 17 have risen to the top and were interviewed with the prospect of being named this year's All-Bahamas Merit Scholar (ABMS) as well as secure a $140,000 scholarship towards their undergraduate studies.
The ABMS is the most prestigious award bestowed upon a high school graduate, with the runner-up being named the National Merit Scholar, an award that last year was worth $80,000.
Amongst this year's finalists at least seven were males, according to Reginald Saunders, administrator, Scholarship and Education Loan Division in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
While the ABMS and NMS have already been identified by the selection committee, the winners are at this point scheduled to be formally announced on August 10, but ministry officials are hoping to move the ceremony to an earlier date, and as early as the day following the August Monday holiday to accommodate student departures for their freshmen year at university.
Saunders remained tight-lipped as always in the lead-up to the announcement, he did say as in recent years, it was difficult selecting the person who will be named ABMS.
"We have a lot of exceptional students in our country, and it's difficult when everybody has the same type of consistent academic performance," said Saunders.
He referred to that selection pressure as "a good type of pressure," but said the selection committee is meticulous in ensuring they do their checks and balances to ensure that the person ultimately selected fits the criteria to be named ABMS.
"We have to interview them and make sure they have any updated information, and from that we are able to deliberate. I have been doing this for many years, and the students who are [deserving] of this award usually gravitate to the top."
As in years past he said that there are exceptional students at the top, and he admitted that the person who was selected stands out after having met all criteria.
One aspect of the award he said some people tend to forget is that the person named the ABMS has to be well-rounded as they are an ambassador for the country, and as such, the selection cannot be based solely on academics.
The ABMS is awarded to the applicant who has demonstrated exceptional academic ability, excellence in co-curricular activities, has been accepted to an academically prestigious college or university, has a strong ethos of public service, possesses an unwavering dedication to improving the lives of all Bahamians, and has demonstrated a strong moral character and the potential to lead.
"If the person can't communicate effectively that's a problem. If they go into a room and just sit there, that's not whom we want, even though they have gotten straight A's, have a perfect GPA [grade point average], and scored 2,000 on the SAT [Scholastic Aptitude Test]. The student has to be well-rounded because they are to be the face of The Bahamas," said Saunders.
Criteria for eligibility includes Bahamian citizen, a graduate, or expecting to graduate from a Bahamian secondary school having completed a minimum of three consecutive years of secondary education; be under the age of 20; have a minimum secondary school cumulative GPA of 3.50 or equivalent at the end of the fall term prior to application; have registered to sit, and or have sat a minimum of seven Bahamas General Certificates of Secondary Education [BGCSE's] including English Language and math prior to the time of application; and have applied to an accredited college or university.
The ABMS is currently valued at up to $35,000 per annum. The scholarship is a renewable award for up to four years of undergraduate study at The College of The Bahamas or an accredited university or college in the Caribbean, United States of America, United Kingdom or Canada. Consideration is given to specific undergraduate degrees whose required program exceeds four years in length. The award will provide in order of priority for tuition and related fees, on-campus room and board, books, miscellaneous student fees and health insurance as funding allows.
St. Augustine's College valedictorian Nia Cambridge, 17, who plans to pursue studies in international studies with a concentration in international development at the University of Richmond in the fall, is one of the students who made application for consideration for the award. To be named ABMS she said would be an honor, and would mean that the selection committee thought that out of all the applicants that she was the most curious and the most deserving of the scholarship.
"There are very few All Merit Scholars, and only one person gets it each year. It's an honor to win that award."
Since the 1993 inception of the award only 20 ABMS titles have been meted out. No awards were given in 1994 or 2001.
"I decided to apply because I just wanted to see if I could do it. In a way it was just to test myself ... and also the extra money for college doesn't hurt. I also wanted to do it for my school as well," said the St. Augustine's College graduate.
Nia graduated high school with a 3.99 cumulative GPA. She was also named the best and brightest among graduating females by the Eta Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and awarded the $5,000 Linda Higgs-Swann Memorial Scholarship at their 38th Annual Honour's Day Programme. She was offered a full four-year scholarship to attend Howard University. She passed on the scholarship to attend the university of her choice to which she has been awarded a full tuition scholarship, but she will still have to fund room, board and fees to the tune of $17,000 annually outside of the scholarship. If she's named ABMS would just be the icing on the cake for Nia.
The ABM award that was funded by the Lyford Cay Foundation, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and The Central Bank of The Bahamas, went through a change in recent years, with the Lyford Cay Foundation no longer a financial partner as of 2015.
Lyford Cay Foundation Director of Development and Communications Amanda Marray said last year that the Lyford Cay Foundation would continue to support the students currently on the award -- Theophilus Moss, the 2012 winner who is studying mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University; Shannon Butler, the 2013 winner who is studying medicine at St. Andrew's University; and Gabrielle Moss, the 2014 winner who is studying mathematics and statistics with a focus on actuarial science at Johns Hopkins University.
Marray said in evaluating how they could best impact The Bahamas and the use of the foundation's donors investment wisely, the foundations finalized a strategic vision that focuses on serving those students most in need, or those who would benefit from support the most. A change that she said has been made evident throughout all the foundation's programs.
"Currently our scholarship criteria weighs both the financial need and academic merit of the applicant. We have further amended our criteria to give a greater weight to financial need and to prioritize first-generation college students," said Marray.
"While we recognize the importance of rewarding the hard work of the best and brightest in our country, the goal of the All Bahamas Merit Scholarship -- which provides $140,000 in scholarship funding to the most outstanding Bahamian student, regardless of need -- does not align with our mission. We are honored to have been a part of this program for the past 20 years."
The withdrawal of the Lyford Cay Foundation partnership didn't bring about any changes in terms of the way the scholarship was managed and how they choose the person for the award, said Saunders in a past interview.
In the 22 years since the scholarship's inception, seven females have been named ABMs and three of the recipients have studied at Johns Hopkins University.
All Bahamas Merit Scholars
2015 -- Domonic McDonald, University of Western Ontario, Canada, political science with a specialty in international relations
2014 -- Gabrielle Moss, Johns Hopkins University, mathematics and statistics with a focus on actuarial science
2013 -- Shannon Butler, University of St. Andrew's, medicine
2012 -- Theophilus Moss, Johns Hopkins University, mechanical engineering
2011 -- Jamia Moss, College of St. Benedict, biochemistry and Spanish
2009 -- Jenna Chaplin, University of The Pacific, fine arts and psychology
2008 -- Genymphas Higgs, Drexel University, biomedical engineering
2007 -- Lisa Rodgers, Brown University, education
2006 -- Kyle Chea, Vassar College, pre-med and foreign languages
2005 -- Andrea Culmer, McGill University, Chemistry and Pre-Med
2004 -- Sharelle Ferguson, Harvard University, social studies
2003 -- Sebastian Hutchinson, University of Pennsylvania, finance and accounting
2002 -- Peter Blair, Duke University, physics and mathematics
2001 -- No award given
2000 -- Ricardo Davis, Queen's University, Ontario, biochemistry
1999 -- Ryan Knowles, Boston University, accounting and finance
1998 -- Damian Archer, University of Western Ontario, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus - 1 year, chemistry, medicine
1997 -- Jehan Unwala, Tufts University, international relations and economics
1996 -- Rhys Powell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, electrical engineering and computer science
1995 -- Damian Forbes, Yale University, economics
1994 -- No award given
1993 -- Shireen Denise Donaldson, Johns Hopkins University, biochemistry
Shavaughn Moss, Guardian Lifestyles Editor
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