UTech Lecturer Says Education Can Break Generational Cycles Of Poverty

Lecturer at the College of Business and Management at the University of Technology (UTech), Dr. Neleen Leslie-Piper, says education should be viewed as one of the ways to break generational cycles of poverty.

According to Dr. Leslie-Piper, students who are faced with challenging situations should be encouraged to remain focused as well as take advantage of available opportunities that will guarantee them a quality education.

She was delivering the keynote address to scholarship recipients at the J. Wray & Nephew (JWN) Foundation Scholarship Awards Ceremony, held at the Courtleigh Auditorium, in Kingston, on Thursday, September 12.

Some 275 students were awarded close to $17 million in scholarships by the company.

“As a country girl, I know the struggles that the youth in our less affluent and rural communities face in finding opportunities to pursue their dreams, so I want to thank the JWN Foundation for their focus on these communities,” Dr. Leslie-Harper said.

The Lecturer noted that she, too, encountered her fair share of economic challenges in her pursuit of academic and personal success.

“My first piece of advice is to bloom where you are planted. Many of us come from communities that are not the wealthiest or the most developed. Some of us have taken the non-traditional route to education, working to fund our studies,” she said.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Foundation, Clement Lawrence, described the awards ceremony as a celebration of the countless hours of hard work and sacrifice made by highly motivated students, parents and teachers.

“We at the JWN Foundation recognise that this investment transcends the individual and also has a transformational effect on families and communities. We hold firm in our belief that our investment will, ultimately, serve to mould and empower Jamaica’s future leaders, and in so doing contribute to national development,” he said.

Scholarship recipient, Lorenzo Blake, who spoke on behalf of the awardees, said the JWN Foundation should be lauded for the work they are doing in education.

“I would like to extend a hearty thank you to the J. Wray & Nephew Foundation for not just giving these scholarships but for believing in our youth. They say the youth are our future, and you can safely say that you are investors in the future of our nation,” he noted.

The awardees are from communities surrounding JWN’s business operations in St. Elizabeth, Clarendon and Kingston.

The scholarships are valued at $25,000 for the secondary level, and $450,000 at the tertiary level.