STAR awards scholarships during RJRGLEANER Back to School Bazaar

Fourteen lucky students were the recipients of scholarships valued at $20,000 each as the RJRGLEANER Communications Group hosted its annual Back-to-School Bazaar last Saturday on the lawns of Devon House in St Andrew.

The scholarships were issued by THE STAR newspaper, which was among the list of sponsors offering special prizes during the six-hour event broadcasted live on Power 106 FM, Hitz 92 FM and RJR 94 FM.

Fourteen-year-old Alex Gray shared that, on arriving home from summer school one afternoon, his mom showed him the application form in THE STAR and asked him if he was interested in attending.

"This is my first time attending, but I would definitely come back for its next staging. I believe this is a good thing that the organisers are doing to help persons with financial difficulties," Gray said.

Project coordinator and sales representative at RJR 94 FM, Maxine McTaggart, remarked with satisfaction and delight that "a back-to-school initiative is a necessity, as people are always furthering their education and procreation never stops. One of the differences with this kind of event is that we found a way to strike a good balance between shopping and relaxing. Children will come and enjoy the entertainment, while the parents and guardians get really good deals".

"It has a very friendly atmosphere with several things to entertain the entire family. I particularly like the opportunity being offered with the scholarships and would hope to be one of the lucky winners," said third-year student at The Mico University College, Lisa-Gaye Letts-Mullings.

One of the lucky winners of the day, Keira Jackson, who traversed from Bull Bay, St Thomas, commented: "This was a lot of fun and I am excited about going back to school and doing my favourite subject, integrated science."

Her mother, Patrina Amos, said: "I see a lot of value in this, to only spend $40 on a STAR and received a scholarship prize of $20,000 is great. I will definitely be attending next year."

Lucky winners

With nearly 500 enthusiastic entries, the following is the list of the remaining 13 lucky winners:

n Johnoy Hall - New Providence Primary School.

n Jemelia Nation - St Catherine High School.

n Shelly-Ann Douglas - Hope Valley Experimental School.

n Nasri Francis - Holiness Basic School.

n Isabbel Dixon - Wonder World Kindergarten.

n Diandra Bonner - Oberlin High School.

n Ta-Shawn Johnson - Constant Spring Primary and Junior High School.

n Alexandria Sillpatt - St Catherine Preparatory School.

n Jahiem Johnson - Calabar High School.

n Suyen Brooks - St Andrew High School for Girls.

n Mikayla Robinson - Kensington Primary School.

n Daniel Livingstone - Trafalgar Christian Preparatory School.

n Keira Hill - Kingsgate Preparatory School.

The 15th scholarship was awarded to Makayha Gordon, who, based on an article published in The Gleaner, was deemed worthy of the assistance and an exceptional case.

Other exhibitors who provided discounts and prizes for patrons of the event were Carlong Publishers, Sangster's Bookstores, Consumer Affairs Commission, Hi-Pro Foods and Carib Cash.