Petrojam Awards Scholarships to GSAT High Achievers

Four students, two each from Greenwich All-Age and St. Andrew Primary Schools in South West St. Andrew, will be at ease when they begin their high school journey in September, as their school related expenses will be taken care of by Petrojam.

The oil refinery company have awarded them scholarships for their outstanding performances in the recent Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) examinations.

They were presented with their scholarships and other awards at a luncheon hosted by Petrojam, at the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) Incubator and Resource Centre, in Kingston, on August 17.

The five-year scholarship is valued at $60,000 per year for each student and covers books, tuition and other related fees.

The 2018 recipients are Jaydon Green and Abigail Daley of St. Andrew Primary and Alton Brown and Shamoya Williams from Greenwich All-Age.

Jaydon, who will be attending Wolmer’s Boys’ School, tells JIS News that he is “very happy and proud” to be recognised for his hard work.

“We are thanking Petrojam for awarding us scholarships, so we will be able to pay our tuition and other expenses, and also ease a big strain off our parents’ pockets,” he says.

Abigail, who will attend St. Andrew High School for Girls, tells JIS News that she too is very grateful for the scholarship, and pleased that her hard work has paid off.

“My aim for high school is to achieve higher than the expected standard,” she says, and is encouraging all students to strive for excellence.

Alton, who will be attending St. George’s College, says he is thankful for the award, adding that he intends to maintain excellent grades to make Petrojam and his family proud.

Shamoya, who goes to St. Hugh’s High in September, tells JIS News that she is delighted to have been awarded the scholarship by Petrojam.

Meanwhile, parents of the scholarship winners say they will continue to play an integral role in the lives of the children to ensure that they excel in all their academic pursuits.

They commended the management of Petrojam for the initiative, which they say will greatly assist in their child’s academic development over the years.

The scholars will each be assigned a Mentor from the staff of Petrojam, who will assist in providing them with guidance for the scholarship’s duration. This in keeping with the provisions of the entity’s scholarship awards programme.

General Manager, Petrojam Limited, Winston Watson, tells JIS News that the scholarship programme, implemented in 2006, represents the company’s commitment to empowering students to achieve academic and personal success.

He is encouraging the students to continue to strive for excellence, noting that they are the future leaders of the society.

“Your success shows what is possible with hard work and perseverance. This is just the beginning. I encourage you to strive for excellence in all that you do, and to make the best of this opportunity that has been afforded you,” he says.

He is urging the students to stay motivated, particularly when they experience the inevitable challenges associated with secondary education.

For his part, guest speaker at the event, Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, Sujae Boswell, congratulated the students and urged them to continue to do well in school.

He encouraged them to set clearly defined goals while maximising on their talents. He also commended the parents and teachers who prepared the students for GSAT.

Sectional prizes were also presented to students from the respective schools.

From Greenwich All-Age, Lisa Burton was awarded for being the Outstanding Achiever in the Arts; Leon Thomas, Sports; Alton Brown, the Top Boy Trophy. He also copped the Outstanding Achiever in Mathematics award, while Matthew Grant was awarded as the Outstanding Achiever in Science and Language Arts.

From St. Andrew Primary, Top Boy Jaydon Green also received the award as Outstanding Achiever in Mathematics, while Top Girl Abigail Daley also received the award for Outstanding Achiever in Language. Ajalon Cole received the Outstanding Achiever in Science; Odesha Thomas, Mathematics; Kevin Williams, Sports, while Jada Bowens was recognised for her outstanding achievement in Arts.

The scholarship initiative falls under Petrojam’s community outreach programme.