KINGSTON, Jamaica – Academically-gifted students from low-income Jamaican families are being encouraged to apply for the New Seasons Youth Program (NSYP) which places undergraduates at predominantly Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in the United States.

New Seasons collaborates with HBCUs, and they in turn provide these financially challenged but brilliant students with full-ride scholarships.

The NSYP was founded in 2008 by Ray Jackson and his late wife, De’Adrianne Jackson. Since its inception, NSYP has secured more than US$4.5 million in scholarships on behalf of participants. Several of them have gone on to work with Fortune 500 companies in the United States.

Adrian Rhoden, 20, a former student of Cornwall College in St. James, is a current recipient of a NSYP scholarship. He is studying at Alabama A&M University in the southeastern region. Rhoden completed 6th form at Cornwall College in 2021 with a total of 24 subjects from the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) in both CAPE and CSEC. He achieved the highest grade possible (Grade One) in 22 of those subjects. The native of Flower Hill in the parish was raised by a single mother, Claudia Jarrett, since his father, Oscar Rhoden, passed in 2017

At Alabama A&M Rhoden is pursuing a four-year major in Biology. He hopes to become a doctor. Rhoden shared that the NSYP has afforded him the opportunity to achieve his college goals without the financial worry.

“I’ll be forever grateful to the New Seasons Youth Program for connecting me with the AAMU Presidential Scholarship which pays for everything regarding my studies. This includes tuition, books, housing, and a meal plan,” said Rhoden from his dorm room.

Currently, there are four Jamaican students on the programme studying at HBCU schools in Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee. Meanwhile, two Jamaicans have completed the programme and are now gainfully employed in the U.S.A.

Board Director with NSYP, Elaine Palmer, said that although it is good that they have so far been able to improve the lives of these Jamaican students, they want to expand the offer to more students locally.

“NSYP is eager to assist as many Jamaicans as possible. It is exhilarating to know that we can impact a generation with this opportunity. Jamaica has some brilliant students who are just yearning for an opportunity to attend college,” Palmer stated.

The NSYP initiative is a non-profit Christian organisation designed to provide quality post-secondary (college) education in the United States to academically gifted youth and young adults from Africa and the Caribbean.

Palmer said the organisation aims to help African and Caribbean youth build and sustain a better life through education. She noted that, aside from Jamaica, scholarship recipients have been drawn from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and other African countries.

Sianna Christian is from the central Jamaica parish of Clarendon and completed her undergraduate studies at Lemoyne Owens in 2021. She graduated with the distinction of being valedictorian and is now pursuing her Master’s Degree in Financial Management.

Prospective students for the NSYP should be a high school graduate and have attained academic excellence, leadership, and preferably an SAT international test minimum combined score of 1150. Applicants also go through a rigorous interview before being selected. Applicants should not be above 23 years old.

If recruited through New Seasons by an American college or university, the recipient is awarded a full-ride scholarship which may include airfare and ground transportation to the city of their college or university. All fees associated with visa, passport, and college applications will be covered by New Seasons.

Additionally, each student will be provided with clothing and incidental stipend to assist with purchasing the appropriate clothing for the climate in which they will be living and to provide them with the basic necessities they will need for dormitory life.

The application period for some US colleges commences between November and February, hence those interested to garner a NSYP scholarship are advised to start the application process now.

“The application process is very competitive so students need to be prepared,” said Palmer.