A dream revived - Shimona Nelson revels in assistance from CB/UWI Fund Run

"When I was told (about it), I could hardly believe my good fortune." So said nationally recognised student-athlete Shimona Nelson, one of 40 recipients of scholarships in this year's renewal of the CB/UWI 5K RunWalk and Smart Eggs Kids K, which events were launched last Tuesday morning at the UWI Regional Headquarters in Kingston.

Responding on behalf of her fellow recipients, sports psychology student Shimona, who is a national representative in both netball and basketball, spoke of the challenges facing her both as a student and an athlete.

"It has been very stressful for me not knowing how I was going to continue to fund my education." she said.

So much so, that the second year student once thought her dream of practicing sports psychology had hit a dead end. By removing the financial burden, the CB Group award, she said, has made it much easier for her to apply herself in the dual role of student-athlete.

In addition to playing goal-shooter on the netball court, Nelson also has a pivotal role in basketball, putting her height and athleticism to use as a centre player.

Her netball talent took her all the way to Botswana where she was part of the Under-21 Sunshine Girls and was named Most Valuable Player, and she now has an invitation to play in the upcoming Fast5 Netball World Series in Australia.

But her sporting exploits do not stop there. The 18-year-old has also tried her hand at the javelin event and is looking to increase her involvement in that discipline, but not at the expense of her studies. Nelson is committed to maintaining the grade point average (GPA) in excess of 3.0, that saw her being selected in the first place and going on to realise her dream of motivating and counselling other athletes.

Deeply appreciative

"Like the other recipients, I am deeply appreciative, and I certainly will not let this unique opportunity be wasted."

The launch also saw a video with comments and testimonials from the 2017 awardees.

CB CEO Matthew Lyn had a somewhat optimistic instruction for the scholarship awardees gathered for the launch of the sixth annual CB Group/UWI 5K RunWalk and Smart Eggs Kids K.

"Be flexible, be open to opportunities that may lie outside of your degree focus or your major. Keep an open mind," he said in congratulating the beneficiaries.

The company, Lyn, said, believed thoroughly in education as the primary vehicle for national development and thus was proud and pleased to be associated with the event, which he said, was now - after five stagings finding its rhythm.