David “Wagga” Hunt Scholarship Gala on March 8

Two outstanding Washington DC-based Jamaicans will be honoured at this year’s David “Wagga” Hunt Scholarship red carpet gala on March 8.

They are dental surgeon and Kingston College (KC) alumni, Dr. Maurice Miles, and Chairman of Jamaica Howard University Affinity Network (JHUAN) and Howard University board member, Donald Christian.

Dr. Miles will be recognised for his medical leadership in the United States (US) and Mr. Christian, a partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Washington DC, for his business and community leadership.

Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Audrey P. Marks, serves as patron for the gala, which will be held in the atrium of the National Education Association building in downtown Washington DC. She will deliver an address and present the awards.

The annual gala serves as a fundraising event for the scholarship, which benefits students at Kingston College (KC) and Calabar High School.

Chairman of the Scholarship Foundation, Christopher Hunt, said that “each new year brings renewed optimism to our mission of offering scholarships to deserving students”.

“It is in that spirit that we always strive to set new fundraising targets as we seek to increase disbursement amounts and the number of scholarships awarded yearly,” he pointed out.

Mr. Hunt said that for the 2023/2024 school year, “We increased our scholarship amount by 50 per cent to $150,000 per student. Recipients are funded, starting from grade eight through to grade 13.”

The awards cover tuition, books, lunch, and other school-related expenses.

“To date, we have disbursed over $36 million in scholarships and school-related expenses. In addition, we provide personal computers for all our scholarship recipients,” Mr. Hunt said.

He said that scholarship recipients must display commendable academic performance and aptitude, be involved in extracurricular activities, and deemed to be in need of financial assistance.

The Chairman noted that the number of awards has increased in recent years and the goal is to continue offering scholarships to deserving students at the beneficiary schools.

“As we embark on our 16th year of operation and the 11th year of our in-person gala, we are pleased with our growth and the deepening bond with the community. We are very active with the Jamaican students matriculating at Howard University in Washington DC, through mentoring and providing a homely atmosphere,” he said.

Established in 2009, the David “Wagga” Hunt Scholarship is named for the late KC past student, football coach and co-founder of Meadhaven United Football Club, who died in 2007.

One of Jamaica’s most notable track and field analysts, Wagga Hunt served as General Secretary of the Kingston and St. Andrew Football Association; General Secretary of the Minor League Football Association; former Jamaica national under-17 football coach; and Manning Cup coach at KC, Calabar, and Meadowbrook High School.