TWO months into the new academic year, four tertiary-level students are breathing a collective sigh of relief, after being named the 2009 recipients of the Renald Mason scholarships.

Among the recipients of the award – given by GSB Co-operative Credit Union – is Deniel Cole-Simms. The married 22-year-old is now completing her Bachelor of Technology degree in Environmental Science at the College of Agriculture Science and Education’s (CASE’s) off-site campus in Montego Bay, St James.

“We were really struggling to pay the fees for school… My husband and I were both studying and I was not working… and we had to be travelling from Brown’s Town [in St Ann] to Montego Bay three times for the week. So between the fees and repaying the loan for the car, it was really becoming a struggle,” Cole-Simms recalled.

She subsequently made the decision to apply for the scholarship, which she saw advertised in the newsletter disseminated by GSB Credit Union. She submitted the application a little too close to the deadline and was sceptical that she would be selected.

Her husband, Kevoy, thought otherwise and he was right. Cole-Simms’ good fortune did not end there; she also secured a teaching position at Brown’s Town High School.

Upon completing her degree, she said she will continue to teach and plans to revitalise the environmental science club at Brown’s Town High School.

A similar tale was recounted by final-year medical student, Asana Anderson, who, after an exhaustive search for financial assistance to complete her studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI), found out about the Renald Mason scholarship while surfing the Internet.

The devout Christian, who, with her strong commitment to volunteerism, epitomises the spirit of the person for whom the scholarship is named, said she had to seek out financial assistance as she was no longer eligible to access funds from her previous source – the Jamaica Values and Attitudes Programme.

“The tuition had been steadily increasing from the first year of medical school and when you get to your final year, your tuition doubles. Plus, my mother was not working and I was in a quandary to pay my tuition,” noted the 25-year-old.

“A lot of corporate institutions who used to offer scholarships no longer do this. There was also UWI, which have a limited number of scholarships and the competition is tough. I was really surprised when I called GSB and found out that they still offered the Renald Mason Scholarship. The staff was very forthcoming and helpful and encouraging and through my initial interaction with them, my sister and I became members,” she added.

Being selected for the scholarship has been a big relief for not only her parents, Carlton and Audrey Anderson, who have three of their four children currently pursuing post-secondary education but also for her 91-year-old grandmother, Hazel Patterson, a retired teacher who also ably provides support.

Anderson holds a Bachelor of Science degree, with distinction, in bio-chemistry from the University of Toronto and anticipates specialising in internal medicine, specifically, rheumatology.

Meanwhile, for recipient Rohan Drysdale, there was never a moment’s doubt in his mind he would be awarded a scholarship, after applying when eligible, in his final year at University of Technology (UTech). The embodiment of calm, he said that having been a member of GSB since 2005, he was always aware of the scholarship.

“I was very confident that I would win the scholarship based on my community involvement… and the way the interview was conducted,” said the 26-year-old.

“Not having to borrow a loan in my third year is a wonderful thing,” added Drysdale, who sits as the treasurer on the Board of Management for the Denham Town Community Centre and the HEART/ NTA Training Centre.

Obtaining a postgraduate diploma in education at UTech is a part of his immediate future.

“I will seek an organisation of American States [OAS] scholarship to pursue a postgraduate degree overseas in either Law and Economics or Finance and Investment,” he said.

For Tifain Taylor, 21, whose pursuits accounts and business has been a long love affair, getting the scholarship to complete her Bachelor of Science degree in management (accounts) at the UWI was not a sure thing. In fact, it was the stern encouragement of her mother, Sheryl Williams Gayle, a member of GSB for 15 years, which prompted her to apply, as she was pessimistic about her chances of winning one of the scholarships.

“I had applied for other scholarships and I had not got through. I just figured I would not get through this time around. Now we are so happy. My family is so supportive and proud of me,” she said, clearly happy with her achievement.

Taylor is no slouch when it comes to academics. She received the Cross Campus First Year Award for attaining the highest average at the Level 1 in the Faculty of Social Sciences and for having one of the top five averages in her first year on the Mona campus. She was also a member of the 2009 winning UWI, Mona Team for the First Caribbean International Bank Business Case Analysis Competition where she was awarded the prize for best overall presenter.

After graduation, she hopes to secure a position at the prestigious PricewaterhouseCoopers and complete her Association of Chartered Certified Accountants qualification.

The Renald Mason Scholarship awards are given annually to a select group of tertiary-level students entering their final year of study. The awards are usually made in September of the academic year in honour of the late Renald Mason, who, as a junior member of staff at the GSB, encouraged his co-workers and his friends in other Government offices to join the credit union. He also took an active part in the management of the organisation by serving on various committees. He held the position of treasurer during the period 1969 to 1972 and again in 1993, and served as president from 1975 to 1978.