For the third straight year, Petrojam Limited has expanded its goodwill to awarding two scholarships to the top GSAT boy and girl of Greenwich All age school in Kingston. This year’s scholarship winners are Samella Walters and Orain Muir. The scholarships will cover school costs, books and miscellaneous items as the students’ parents or guardians request. Akishma Fisher, a member of the Community Outreach Committee, noted that the scholarship, which is now annual came about as a need for the company to impact on its community and lift the educational level of Greenwich All Age school.
“Petrojam values education and we understand that students need motivation to do well. As such, we have created the Petrojam scholarship to encourage the students to work harder and do well in the GSAT examinations”, Fisher said. The scholarship programme which started in 2006 includes mentorship for students by Petrojam employees throughout their 5 years of high school. This part of the programme is being further expanded this year to include training for students, parents and mentors so each will know their role in the education process.
“Our scholarship winners must maintain good grades and behaviour to maintain their scholarship. Therefore, we have included the mentorship programme to support the students in what could be a daunting task for the students” Fisher continued.
In addition, the company is introducing a breakfast programme for Greenwich All Age school that will begin in the next school term.
“We are providing funding to facilitate a breakfast programme. This particular project was selected in an attempt to improve the overall attendance at the school which we hope will have the spin-off effect of helping the children to learn”, notes Fisher.
Samella Walters wants to be an attorney-at-law and she is already on the path to achieving that dream. With confidence well beyond her years, the child of Samuel Walters and Marcia Spence-Walters showed evidence of her natural aptitude in the recent GSAT examinations. Samella scored 96% for Mathematics, 89% for Science, 94% for Language Arts, 99% for Social Studies and 9 of 12 for Communication Task.
In explaining her study habits, Samella revealed that she doesn’t study for long periods. “I don’t study any subject for more than 30 minutes each day as I easily get tired and tend to forget. I did a few extra classes but most of my studying time was spent with my brother Samoy Walters, who attends Camperdown. He made studying seem like fun, so it was easy”, says Samella.
Preparing to attend Immaculate Conception High School.Samella admits that she is looking forward to becoming a member of some of the school’s clubs as she enjoys reading, music, playing board games, cricket and football.
When asked about her reaction to her grades, she smiles and responds “my teachers told me on the day before the results were officially announced, but I didn’t believe them as they often joked about that. However, when my no-nonsense class teacher, Ms. Richards confirmed it, I was elated. I knew I had done well but it was wonderful to hear”. According to her parents, Samuel and Marcia, education is a priority for the family.
“We don’t pressure our children, but we ensure that they have the right principles and know that they should always strive to do well. We are very proud of our daughter and now that she will be entering high school, we just want her to continue on the path to success”, they said.
Francine Green’s eyes filled with water as she spoke about her son Orain Muir, the 2008 male recipient of the Petrojam Limited scholarship. According to Ms. Green, Orain’s hardwork and the scholarship were an answer to a prayer she has been praying for some time now. “I have been praying that something like this comes along to make raising my three children a little easier. I want the best for them and the scholarship will go a far way in ensuring that my son gets the best education”, says Ms. Green.
Orain averaged in the 60s and although he is happy for the scholarship, he admits that he needs to work harder at his new school, Tivoli High.
Ms. Green notes that studying was a family affair for Orain. “I asked his brother, Rickell Muir and his stepfather Joseph Jackson to help him with his studies. He wanted to do the exams last year but we didn’t think he was ready and so worked extra hard to prepare him for this year” she said.
Orain, who has set his heart on being a scientist and enjoys playing football and watching television, says his motivation for studying was the Petrojam scholarship. “When the representatives from Petrojam came to inform us that we could be recipients of a scholarship, I knew I had to work harder because I wanted it more than anything”, says Orain. Now preparing for high school, Orain’s biggest supporter, his mother, speaks to him sound words of advice. “Continue making me proud, focus on school work and know that I will always be here to cheer you on”, Ms. Green says.
Petrojam Gives Back To Community
Karen BlairJune, 26, 2008
Gleaner Article Features Writer
