WASHINGTON, United States — Jamaica’s ambassador to the United States Audrey Marks has lauded the Jamaica Howard University Affinity Network (JHUAN) for providing scholarship support valued US$100,000 to needy Jamaican students at Howard University over a three-year period.

She also congratulated the 15 students in the 2021 cohort who received an additional $45,000 in scholarships.

“Having been involved in the conception of this fantastic initiative three (3) years ago, I am truly proud of the remarkable strides made in such a short time, providing support to the tune of over US$100,000 to Jamaican students at Howard University,” said Marks.

Speaking at the third annual scholarship awards on Saturday, March 27, the Jamaican ambassador said the Howard University scholarship fund was “a very timely and useful initiative which, I hope can be replicated at other institutions of learning across the US with large Jamaican population.”

Marks pointed out that “in addition to the provision of scholarships, JHUAN was created to serve the Jamaican community through mentoring and career development.”  She encouraged the students to take full advantage of the mentoring and networking opportunities provided by JHUAN, thereby expanding their horizons and gaining the requisite tools to launch their careers.

In his remarks, Chairman of JHUAN, Don Chistian said “my organisation is pleased to award these 15 scholarships to the tune of US$45,000 to deserving students attending Howard who are pursuing various degrees. He pointed out that the scholarship programme was a part of a bigger effort to inspire and empower and motivate Jamaican students to take full advantage of their experience at Howard University.”

The JHUAN chairman recalled that the history of the establishment of the scholarship programme in 2018 was as a result of the collaboration and involvement of Ambassador Marks and Howard University president Dr Wayne Frederick.