J Wray & Nephew Limited recently reaffirmed its commitment to education by awarding secondary and tertiary scholarships to 47 students. Among the grantees were students from Waterhouse and Seaview Gardens in St Andrew, and Siloah in St Elizabeth. The company also provided grants to children of employees.

“We recognise the interconnectedness of business and education and in this regard we are pleased to once again award academic scholarships to the youth of our communities. We are making this investment in these young people as we want them to develop and become the next generation of leaders,” said Jimmy Lawrence, managing director of J Wray & Nephew Limited.

The J Wray & Nephew Limited scholarship programme is one way in which the company supports the communities surrounding its business; by helping promising youth to access the best education available. A new element of the company’s education support programme is the introduction of mentorship for all scholarship grantees. The students will now be matched with J Wray & Nephew Limited employees who will share their knowledge and experience.

In a video message to guests at a recent scholarship awards ceremony, Necas Collins, a past scholarship recipient who is currently enrolled at Rogers State University in Oklahoma, encouraged the students to focus on giving their best and working hard at all times. Collins, a former resident of Seaview Gardens and a Jamaica College graduate, is mentored by Greta Bogues, J Wray & Nephew Limited’s Senior director, corporate affairs and external communications.

“Mentorship is a unique opportunity for us to help marshal the future of Jamaica through these extraordinary young people. The relationship between the mentor and the mentee offers very special rewards in that the young people have the support of someone else in their corner, and the adults get to share their own life lessons in a meaningful way,” said Bogues.

There were 10 first-time scholarship recipients, one of whom is Romario Clair, a first former at Calabar High School.

“Romario is a disciplined and hard-working boy, he is very quiet and religious and his great GSAT results show that faith in God is very important,” his father Nathan Clair said.

“Romario has dreams of becoming a surgeon, and this scholarship is a big step towards that goal.”