COURTS Jamaica, a subsidiary of the Unicomer Group of Companies, last Friday awarded 42 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), skills-training and tertiary scholarships to children of its customers as part of the ‘Dare to Dream’ Courts Customer Scholarship initiative, valued at approximately $9 million, at a function held at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston.

The long-standing scholarship programme has been rewarding students of excellence, who have displayed competence in both academic and extra-curricular activities, since its inception in 1986 and has since rewarded 2,550 scholars.

“This year a total of 658 applications were received and 42 scholarships are awarded today. You have worked hard to get where you are. Your remarkable achievements in extra-curricular activities and community service are equally commendable and demonstrated a commitment to excel and also to serve. The competition was keen and it is up to you, as the next generation of talent, to carry on the legacy of excellence, to break new ground and, most importantly, to improve the lives of Jamaicans,” stated Janet Sylvester, commercial director of Unicomer (Jamaica) Limited.

Of the 42 applicants, 10 recipients were awarded tertiary scholarship — six valued at $250,000 each and the other four at $400,000 per recipient. These tertiary scholarships were awarded to students pursuing a bachelors degree at any accredited tertiary institution in Jamaica. The 28 GSAT awardees were granted merit-based scholarships, valued at $100,000 each, while the skills-training group of students who have to be enrolled in any HEAR Trust/NTA institution were provided with 10 scholarships valued at $50,000 each.

Sherona Forrester, the 2016 Rhode Scholar and keynote speaker, praised the recipients for all the hard work they have done so far to get to this point, and encouraged them to “continue pushing boundaries and ‘Bringing Value Home’ — a Courts tag line.

Forrester also lauded the parents for their ever-present contributions to the well-being of the awardees and urged them to continue guiding their children on the right path, so that they may be well-rounded citizens who will contribute positively to any society which they find themselves in.

The Courts Customer Scholarship programme was launched in June 2011, replacing two former scholarship programmes — Junior Management Programme (JUMP) and Manufacturers Apprenticeship Development Exercise (MADE).

These scholarships provide financial assistance to selected customers and their dependents in a bid to help them achieve their educational goals. Scholarship applications open in June and close in July annually, and with this programme the company looks to assist with and encourage nation-building through education.

— Marc Risden