Sun | Apr 28, 2024

New Fortress Energy Foundation awards over $18.5m in scholarships

Published:Monday | December 7, 2020 | 12:10 AM
Engineering students at the UWI collect their scholarships from New Fortress Energy Foundation. In the photo with the students are Adrian Lawrence (left), dean of the Faculty of Engineering; Jacqui Burrell Clarke (centre), director of communications and c
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Engineering students at the UWI collect their scholarships from New Fortress Energy Foundation. In the photo with the students are Adrian Lawrence (left), dean of the Faculty of Engineering; Jacqui Burrell Clarke (centre), director of communications and community relations at New Fortress Energy; and Professor Dale Webber (right, front row), principal and pro-vice-chancellor of the UWI, Mona campus.

New Fortress Energy recently awarded scholarships to some 40 engineering students of The University of the West Indies, Mona campus, Caribbean Maritime University, and University of Technology, Jamaica.

More than 80 per cent of the students who received the scholarships live in and around one of the three communities where the energy provider has operations, which are St Catherine (Old Harbour), St James (Bogue) and (Hayes) Clarendon, while the remaining students are from Kingston and St Andrew, and Westmoreland.

Thirty-seven students received scholarships valued at $365,000 and $735,000, while three students received bursaries valued at $200,000. Of the beneficiaries, 12 students were part of the company’s scholarship programme from previous years who have consistently maintained GPAs of 3.0 and above each year, in keeping with one of the programme’s qualifying criteria. Other criteria are the student’s financial needs and their co-curricular activities such as community involvement and mentorship.

ENDORSED

Fayval Williams, minister of education, youth and information, in endorsing the programme, said; “I commend New Fortress Energy for its needed and unwavering support to Jamaica’s youth and nation building, especially during this challenging time for our country.”

In addition to the scholarships, several students received Lenovo laptops equipped with software applications used in the engineering field, such as CAD and math tools.

Since 2017, New Fortress Energy has awarded over $54 million in scholarships and bursaries to tertiary students. Verona Carter, vice president at New Fortress Energy, said; “We believe education is a fundamental right and we at New Fortress Energy, through the vision of our founder, Wes Edens, are providing access to the necessary resources for these future leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs to thrive and flourish in fulfilling their highest potential.”