FIVE months ago, 19-year-old Noni Freebourne appealed to Jamaicans for help to pursue her dream of studying abroad after receiving three partial scholarships from different universities in the United States, each falling short of the US$30,000 she needed to finance her education. Today, that dream has become a reality.

Freebourne is now the recipient of a full scholarship to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a breakthrough she credits in part to the Jamaicans who answered her call for help and supported her journey.

“I had a lot of people calling me, people who I knew and people who I didn’t know. They were offering congratulations, and they were saying that they’d like to help. How I really got to where I am now was when somebody from Kingston called me. She had read the story, and she said that she had helped her son to go through the whole process to go to school abroad, so she understands my dream and what I was trying to accomplish,” she recalled.

“She had given me the advice to appeal to the universities that I got scholarships from to see if there was an opportunity to get a full ride or a scholarship that would cover the majority of my schooling. I took her advice and then, lo and behold, they [University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff] said that they’d be able to do that because I have a good school record and everything, and they would be glad to have me here,” Freebourne told the
Jamaica Observer.

She said the kind Samaritan, who wishes to remain anonymous, was instrumental in her achieving a full scholarship, staying with her every step of the way until she was college bound.

“She said if I was willing to wait another year, I could try and resit the SATs and I could let her know so she could connect me with the people who had helped her son and the other organisations that helped her son to go to America to study. She was very motivating, and she said that she wouldn’t be able to offer monetary assistance, but she would be willing to offer the advice that she would have had from her experience, which was honestly much more than any money I could get,” said the Titchfield High School and Ardenne High School alumnus.

Despite financial challenges that deepened following the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Melissa, Freebourne stands resilient in her pursuit for greatness. She is a recipient of the Governor General’s Award for Excellence for the parish of Portland, competitive chess player, and Jamaican Mathematics Olympiad. Freebourne also made the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination Merit List and successfully scored 1,390 out of 1,600 in her SAT as a self-taught student.

She had previously been offered the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s top scholarship for incoming freshmen, the Chancellor Award, which provided US$16,500 annually for four years, along with an allowance for books. She’d also been offered a US$14,000-per-year scholarship from Columbia College Chicago, and a US$8,000-per-year scholarship from Alabama State University.

Acting on the advice of her good Samaritan, she said she e-mailed all three universities to ask whether they would consider offering her a full scholarship. Only the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff responded positively.

She said the university was moved by her story and agreed to provide her with a full-ride scholarship covering all four years, on the condition that she maintains a good grade point average.

Still somewhat astounded by how quickly her circumstances have changed, Freebourne said just last year she was uncertain about whether she would be able to attend university at all. Now she is preparing to begin classes on August 24, where she will study computer science with a concentration in mathematics.

She also expressed gratitude to Jamaicans who contributed to her GoFundMe campaign and supported her journey through encouraging comments and messages on social media, noting that the outpouring of love and support has reinforced her belief that she is not walking this journey alone.

“I just wanted to say that I’m really appreciative of the support that they’ve offered and the advice that a lot of people have offered me. I’ll make Jamaica proud. I’ve done so throughout the time, and the exposure that I’ve gotten from this article has led me to take on more opportunities that I wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for this article and for their [Jamaicans] support. I just wanted to give a heartfelt thank you and to express most my appreciation for all the support,” she told the Sunday Observer.

The Portland native added that she is excited to return to Jamaica so she can use the knowledge and skills garnered to develop and improve the digital capacity of small businesses.

“I’ve learned about how small businesses build the foundation of Jamaica, whether it’s GDP [gross domestic product] or the economy as a whole. I just want to offer my services to those businesses and see if I could help them to realise their full potential like Jamaica has allowed me to realise mine,” said Freebourne.

She urged any Jamaican with a dream to take the leap and not allow pride to get in the way of success, noting that there is a community of people who are willing to help.

“No matter if you think that people are going to say no or people are going to say things about you, believe that anything you want or you dream about you can have it and achieve it. You have to put out your 110 per cent and go out and put yourself out there so that people can know you and understand your story, and you can achieve your dreams,” she encouraged.

FREEBOURNE..I’ll make Jamaica proud