Ingrid Boyd is this year’s John Pringle scholar
INGRID Boyd is this year’s recipient of the Jamaica Tourist Board’s (JTB) John Pringle Scholarship valued at J$1.5 million, which will cover her 18 month-long studies in business administration in tourism at the Munroe College in New York.
The scholarship, which is one of three usually awarded by the JTB, comes just one week after John Pringle, Jamaica’s first director of tourism, died at the age of 81 at his home in London.
“I am happy to have been selected because I think it will open up a lot of doors and provide opportunities,” Boyd told the Observer.
Boyd, who will take up the scholarship in January, has worked in the industry for four years. She has an associate degree in tourism.
“Having been in the industry before, I am aware of the scope and I think there is so much potential for the region in terms of tourism and especially for Jamaica,” she said.
Basil Smith, director of tourism, who made the cheque presentation, encouraged Boyd to adapt a similar attitude to that of John Pringle, whom he described as a “gentleman of significance” who didn’t suffer fools at all.
“Many of the devices we used today to promote Jamaica were developed and conceived by Pringle… so we look forward to having you back in triumph at the end of your programme,” Smith said.
Smith told the gathering that the scholarship represented the JTB’s ongoing interest in offering young Jamaicans an opportunity to excel in the industry.
He said the JTB scholarships were particularly aimed at “Jamaicans who might not have had any other chance of reaching towards that goal, and also preserve the memory of outstanding people in the industry”.
JTB’s marketing communications manager Essie Gardner told the Observer that the JTB’s three scholarships were rotated each year.
She explained that they are advertised for anyone who meets the criteria to apply. “Persons must have been accepted into one of the accredited tertiary institutions accredited by the university council and must have been working in the industry for a number of years,” Gardner explained.
