This afternoon 14 students received four year high school scholarships from Belize Telemedia. 370 students applied but the fourteen recipients were chosen based on academic merit and financial need by an in-house selection committee. After a round of interviews and eliminations, it was narrowed down to the final fourteen. We spoke to two of the recipients – 14 year old Randy Rash from Toledo and 14 year old Justin Robinson from Belize City.
Justin Robinson, Scholarship Recipient
“Very good. I was very surprised I got it and I hope I try my best to keep it.”
Keith Swift,
“Why did you decide to apply?”
Justin Robinson,
“Because I am tired of seeing my mom suffering and she has better things to do and I don’t want her to be discouraged of me and say that how I am too much for her. I just want them to help my mom, make her relax a little bit and I hope that is the best I can do.”
Randy Rash, Scholarship Recipient
“When I received the news that I was one of the recipients I was very happy and it was one of the best things in my life that could happen.”
Keith Swift,
“Why did you want the scholarship?”
Randy Rash,
“I wanted the scholarship because my parents couldn’t afford all the needs I wanted.”
Ediberto Tesecum, Telemedia – CFO
“Within the company itself we have a scholarship committee itself and that committee I guess comprises about six persons throughout the company itself and basically they look at different aspects for example the grades of the children themselves, how well they performed in the PSE, their economic status, and so based on that then they decide who are the deserving students that would be granted the scholarships by Belize Telemedia.”
Hon. Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
“When a corporate citizen like BTL does the kind of program like its scholarship program, it certainly leads by example and it sets the pace for other corporate citizens to do their part in helping us to develop education in this country.”
The four year scholarships are valued at roughly $2,500 each. This is the 18th year of the scholarship program and Telemedia estimates that it has spent $1 million on 400 students.
