New York – The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) Scholarship Foundation Monday said it is awarding two scholarships and three study grants to students from Dominica, St Lucia, Belize and Jamaica for the new academic year despite the fundraising challenges it has endured because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
It said that the five students receiving funds will be studying tourism and hospitality management as well as culinary arts at universities in the United States, the Caribbean and Ireland.
“While we always want to do more than we have the funds for, we are proud to be able to help these five students further their tourism education and return to the Caribbean as future leaders in tourism,” said Jacqueline Johnson, CTO Foundation chairman and president of the Global Bridal Group.
According to the CTO Foundation, Antonia Pierre, of Dominica, received the Bonita Morgan Scholarship to study tourism management at the University of the West Indies (UWI), while her compatriot, Allyson Jno Baptiste, will study hospitality management at the Monroe College in New York after receiving the Audrey Palmer Hawks Scholarship.
Jamaican Jenneil Gardener, will receive a study grant for a programme in tourism management at the University of the West Indies, while Venessa Richardson of St Lucia gets a study grant for courses in hospitality management at Monroe College in Castries.
Belizean Chelsea Esquivel has received a study grant for her studies in culinary and gastronomic sciences at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in Galway, Ireland.
The CTO Foundation said that its main aim is to provide opportunities for Caribbean nationals to pursue studies in the areas of tourism, hospitality, language training and other tourism-related disciplines. The foundation selects individuals who demonstrate high levels of achievement and leadership both within and outside the classroom and who express a strong interest in making a positive contribution to Caribbean tourism.
It was established in 1997 as a not-for-profit corporation and registered in the State of New York.
Since 1998, the CTO Foundation has provided 117 major scholarships and 178 study grants to Caribbean nationals, amounting to over US$1 million.
“The CTO Foundation wishes to thank everyone who submitted applications for the 2020 scholarships and grants and encourages those that were not fortunate enough to get a scholarship or grant this year to reapply next year,” said Johnson. (CMC)
