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UWI student wins JN WAY Scholarship

Published:Tuesday | September 24, 2019 | 12:18 AM
Earl Jarrett (left), chief executive officer, the Jamaica National Group, adjusts the bow tie of Kemar Titus (second right), JN WAY Scholarship recipient, as Shonnoya Houston, Most Improved Ambassador, and Clive Lindo, Team Leader of the Year, look on. The occasion was JN Bank’s Wise Aspiring Youth (JN WAY) awards ceremony, held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on September 14.
Earl Jarrett (left), chief executive officer, the Jamaica National Group, adjusts the bow tie of Kemar Titus (second right), JN WAY Scholarship recipient, as Shonnoya Houston, Most Improved Ambassador, and Clive Lindo, Team Leader of the Year, look on. The occasion was JN Bank’s Wise Aspiring Youth (JN WAY) awards ceremony, held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on September 14.

The ultimate goal for Kemar Titus is to be in a position, one day, to create employment and educational opportunities for the young people in his community.

The 22-year-old, who was recently announced the winner of the JN Bank Wise Aspiring Youth (WAY) Scholarship, was raised in the sleepy district of Stepney, St Ann.

“I want to be an entrepreneur, to eventually be my own boss, and in so doing, I will also be able to create jobs for others. This is one of the many ways that I plan to help to grow the economy and to give back to my country,” he said.

A product of the Aabuthnott Gallimore and York Castle high schools, Kemar also dreams of building a youth centre to create more opportunities for skills training and education for young persons in his community.

Titus stated that he was grateful for the assistance that he received from several persons and corporations, such as JN Bank, and that he was determined to “pay it forward”.

“I am extremely happy for this scholarship, and I thank JN Bank for giving me the opportunity to take some of the financial burden off my parents, especially my mother. It has not been easy, and my parents have made big sacrifices to ensure that I receive a sound education,” Kemar noted, stating that the funds will go towards his tuition.

He said that he was also grateful for the JN WAY Ambassador programme, which has helped him to grow tremendously.

“JN WAY has given me the confidence to walk up to anyone and start a conversation. It also gave me the opportunity to meet persons in the business community and to forge strong relationships with my peers. I would recommend any young person to participate in this programme,” he said.

Kemar was selected winner of the scholarship from among 32 JN Way Ambassadors from 20 tertiary institutions across Jamaica who completed the sixth iteration of the initiative. The scholarship, valued at $150,000, is presented to a JN Way Ambassador who completed one year in the programme and has one year left in school.

The recipient must also maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average, be a top performer in the JN WAY programme, and be able to prove financial need.