Tertiary scholarship recipients encouraged to build generational wealth – Davis

WESTERN BUREAU:

Thirty-five young persons from Southern St James, who are now pursuing studies at the island’s universities, have been selected to share $2.5 million in scholarships, courtesy of Homer Davis, member of parliament for the constituency.

The recipients are among the second batch of youth to have benefited under the Southern St James Tertiary Education Scholarship Fund since 2020. On Saturday, October 8, the group received their commitment letters covering their tuition at the respective universities at the presentation ceremony, held at the Montego Bay Cultural Centre, Sam Sharpe Square.

Davis challenged the awardees to develop an appetite for building generational wealth in their quest for knowledge.

“As a people, we don’t create generational wealth, and that is the only way you can empower your people – when you pave the way for those who are coming and those who are coming to pick up from where you left off, and you build,” said Davis.

He referenced the Jewish and Indian communities as among whom, he said, it was practised.

“It is not because they acquire all the money at one time ... what they do, they bring their children up [in the business], they bring their grandchildren up, and it grows like that – we call it generational wealth,” the Southern St James MP explained.

“The trajectory that you’re on, you have to seek to make sure that this is a part of your focus. It is not only you alone ... you also want to make sure that you leave your family in a better place than when you came and saw them,” he told the tertiary scholarship recipients.

Davis has given a commitment to increase the number of persons who will benefit from a tertiary scholarship from the constituency, providing that more corporate partners invest in the educational vision in the next financial year.

“[For] every one of you, there are 10 others out there, but we look at their circumstances. I wish I could do 50 more, but I am putting something in place so that, probably in another year or two, I’ll be looking at probably reaching at least 100 [in] tertiary assistance,” Davis stated.

At the same time, Manchester Central Member of Parliament Rhoda Moy Crawford challenged the scholarship awardees to strive for excellence and to prepare themselves to make sacrifices, including paying it forward so that other persons in their family, and the wider constituency, may benefit from this scholarship programme.

“Also, when you tell your own story and you accept your reality, nobody can use it to shame you. So you need to know who you are and own your situation. You are not responsible for how you came in, or the family you came from, but you are responsible for how you exit,” she said further.

Crawford encouraged the students to strive to be among the best at all times. However, the teacher by profession cautioned that being at their best does not actually mean that they have accomplished everything.

“Even when you land among the best, it is not an automatic stay. You will have to continue to work hard to remain among the best, so from now you must develop a spirit of excellence,” the first-term MP said.