Ecstatic 19-y-o on PATH to becoming a teacher

It was a surreal moment on Tuesday for the sole PATH scholarship recipient, Shantel Williams, whose mother, a janitor, struggled to put her through school and missed the presentation ceremony because of commitment to a job that has sustained her family.

The soft-spoken 19-year-old was, however, represented by her aunt, Nordia Baker, as the Universal Service Fund regaled its 2020 PEP grant and PATH scholarship recipients at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel.

“I’m overjoyed, elated, and excited. Oh, my God! I am happy for her,” Baker, overcome with emotion, told The Gleaner.

“I was the one always encouraging her to try. Even at one point, she said she was going to give up. I said, ‘No, man, try, continue.’”

Williams’ aunt said that the teenager had been banking on getting aid from the Students’ Loan Bureau but had not received a response.

As despair set in, Baker encouraged Williams to apply for the scholarship offered by the Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education, a state welfare fund.

The much-needed funding will aid Williams in tertiary education, and she is ecstatic about beginning her journey to becoming a full-fledged teacher, having been accepted at the Church Teachers’ College in Manchester.

“I can’t believe because I don’t feel like this is really happening ... . This inspires me to continue and know that at the end of the day, my hard work will pay off,” said the Denbigh High graduate.

Williams’ interest in becoming a teacher was sparked by Baker, who is also in the profession, who advised her, “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”

HARDWORKING AND COMMITTED

Baker has been a cheerleader for Williams and had no issue with accepting Williams’ mom’s invitation to attend on her behalf. She praised the scholarship recipient’s mother as hardworking and committed.

“Anywhere she get a little work, she try go and see to it because she has another child who attends Glenmuir, so she always trying with them, borrow, take loan, anything,” said Baker.

Williams, who once lived in Toll Gate but moved to Denbigh, Clarendon, six years ago, will start school in 2021 after attending for only one week this semester after withdrawing for want of funding.

Williams’ PATH scholarship will cover the full cost of her tertiary studies.

Grants for the Primary Exit Profile, the entrance exams for the transition from primary to high schools, were also awarded on Tuesday to 28 scholars. The grants, valued at $40,000 each, were given to the top-performing boy and girl in each parish.

The awards present a welcome cushion amid an economy buffeted by the coronavirus pandemic, which has cost the country tens of thousands of jobs and sent fiscal projections awry.

Daryl Vaz, minister of science, energy, and technology, said that “children are the light of their families and the hope of countries”.

“They represent the next generation of world changers, world leaders, and are filled with tremendous capacity and potential, and we must give them every opportunity to fulfil their potential,” he added.

andre.williams@gleanerjm.com