MONTEGO BAY, St James – Council Heads Of Caribbean Hospitality Schools (CHOCHS) and the Western Hospitality Institute (WHI) yesterday awarded 50 scholarships, valued at $7.5 million, to needy high school students across the island.

Each scholarship is valued at $150,000 and was presented to the representatives from schools that participated in the CHOCHS international conference in April.

The scholarships will give recipients the opportunity to pursue a year of study at the WHI, the only privately-run hospitality institute with accreditation from the University Council of Jamaica in the island. The WHI, which was set up in 1998, is also the largest tourism, culinary and business institution in Montego Bay.

At the presentation ceremony at the Pelican Restaurant in Montego Bay yesterday, CHOCHS president Cecil Cornwall said that all that students needed to make a success of themselves at the institute was a good attitude.

“The scholarships we have today are not for bright students,” he said. “They are looking for students who have the right attitude, because once the attitude is right, we will fix the other side.”

He added that there were a number of people who had passed through the institute to go on to make a success of themselves in the tourism/hospitality sector both locally and abroad, without having had the credit of any O’ level or A’ level subjects.

CHOCHS will host a retreat in Negril within another two weeks as part of their continued effort to enhance their operations and those of the WHI. Among the issues to be dealt with there, Cornwall said, was planning for the next international conference.

They will also look at ways to achieve the professional development of teachers within the hospitality industry, increasing their membership and scholarship creation for student development.

williamsp@jamaicaobserver.com