VM Foundation has awarded some $7 million in new scholarships and bursaries to 74 secondary and tertiary students, strengthening its advocacy for educational access through its 2024 VM Scholars programme.

This year, tertiary students benefited from the newly introduced partnership with University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) through a scholarship awarded to a student entering the second year of undergraduate studies in the Faculty of the Built Environment, as well as the VM Foundation Pensioners’ Bursary.

The scholars also received awards including the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) bursary; Junior Plan Scholarship, awarded to the top PEP student in each county; the tertiary-level Future Plan Scholarship; the STEM (science, technology, education, mathematics) scholarship; and the Master Plan Scholarship, awarded to tertiary students.

During the recent award ceremony for recipients in Surrey, VM Foundation CEO Samantha Charles shared that at the core of its mission to drive youth development is its commitment to advance and promote the educational empowerment of Jamaican students.

“Today we’re reiterating this mission by giving our scholars the opportunity to develop their talents to the fullest — regardless of background, family dynamic, or socio-economic status. We believe that everyone has the right to receive a high-quality and relevant education,” said Charles.

She pointed out that the scholarship recipients will also benefit from mentorship — which is another component of the awards package in the scholarship programme — to connect them with professionals in their various academic disciplines and empower them with the necessary skills for success in today’s competitive world.

“We remain committed to playing an active role in shaping the futures of the next generation in positive ways, believing that learning is both lifelong and lifewide, occurring in multiple contexts within a learner’s life,” said Charles. “With this, our scholarship programme will offer our scholars mentorship to support more holistic development. We firmly stand on the desire to ‘transform your everyday’, and we’re steadfast in achieving this outcome,” added Charles.

Through its digital application platform the foundation received approximately 317 applications for the various bursaries and scholarships this year.

Eraldo Holmes, who received the new VM Foundation UTech scholarship to support his studies in quantity surveying, conveyed his appreciation to the VM team for what he said was invaluable support of his educational journey.

“I’m elated to be the recipient of this award; this is an extreme honour. And to the VM Foundation, I will not let you down. I will continue to succeed and make you proud,” said Holmes.

In the meantime Coyotito Rose, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science at UTech, copped the STEM scholarship.

“While I was hopeful, I still didn’t think I would receive this scholarship but I’m very happy and thankful that I did. It confirms the belief that there is indeed good reward for hard work,” said Rose.