Five students awarded Jamaican Nationals Association scholarships

WASHINGTON, DC: Five students of Jamaican heritage, who are attending colleges and universities in the United States, have been awarded the 2024 Jamaican Nationals Association (JNA) College Student Scholarships.

Each awarded US$1,000 in assistance are Howard University’s Jada Gilfillan, Jamoye Mondie, and Noelle Stennett, and University of the District of Columbia’s Toran Powell and Oshin Wilson.

They were presented with their respective awards at the JNA’s annual Leadership Development Scholarship Awards ceremony held at the Silver Spring Civic Center in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, last Saturday, November 23.

Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Jamaica Lishann Salmon represented Ambassador Audrey Marks. She commended the JNA of the Metro Washington Area for creating the scholarship assistance, calling the initiative “an outstanding effort in helping students to achieve higher education”.

Salmon also congratulated the students and urged them not to forget important values and principles as they go forward. “I encourage you to continue to aim high and never abandon the pursuit of your dreams. May I also encourage you, as beneficiaries of the goodwill of others, to also give back to others in need, giving someone else such opportunity in the future.” She added that “the noblest endeavour is to devote oneself to service to humanity”.

“Education will not make you a more moral person. Education will not tell you how to be a person of integrity; it will not make you kind, neither will it make you sensitive to the needs and interests of others,” said Salmon.

“You acquire those values from home, from church, from your family, friends, and peers. As educated persons, you must ensure that you hold yourselves to those values and that you pass them on to those that are around you.”

As well, Ms Salmon commended the JNA for the remarkable role it has played in the Washington Metropolitan Area – over nearly five decades – in enhancing the welfare of Jamaicans both in the diaspora and at home.

JNA President Rukie Wilson reported that through its student-outreach programme, the JNA also works with the Embassy of Jamaica to facilitate opportunities for fellowships and mentoring relationships between “our university and college students and our Jamaican professional and diplomatic community within the Washington Metropolitan Area.”

She shared that JNA scholarship grants are based on high academic excellence, outstanding community service, and financial need.