Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands – Almost 100 of the new Government overseas undergraduate scholarship students for 2016 attended a meeting over the weekend where they were reminded of the conditions of their scholarships and what is expected of them from the Government during their upcoming scholarship period. The mandatory meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Education’s Scholarship Secretariat as part of its efforts to assist scholars, parents and their sureties with the transition to overseas studies. Hon. Tara Rivers, Minister of Employment, was also on hand to greet and congratulate the scholars for their achievements.

Attendees heard from Secretariat Manager, Deirdre Carmola, on issues such as how to submit receipts and grades; timelines for receiving scholarship funds; the required GPA in order to retain their scholarships; changing majors and/or universities; pursuing post-graduate studies; summer funding; graduating on time; and budgeting.

“The members of the Scholarship Secretariat felt it was necessary to hold these meetings for our new scholars and their parents because the transition to living and studying overseas can be quite overwhelming for the entire family, and we wanted to make the financial aspect of this process as easy as possible,” explained Mrs. Carmola. “In the past, students have struggled to meet the requirements of their scholarship bond because of not fully understanding the rules that govern their receiving money from the Secretariat or just poor planning, and have ended up being in danger of, or losing their funding. This is not what we want. We are here to support them through their tertiary career and ensure that they take full advantage of their study overseas and return to be successful, productive citizens.”

Mrs. Carmola urged the students to contact the Secretariat if they had any questions, concerns, changes or issues while away at school, and stressed the importance of utilising the office as an important resource, and developing a relationship with the Scholarship team.

“We need to be aware of any challenges or difficulties you are facing so we can assist you in making the best decisions to ensure that you meet the expected requirements to maintain your government scholarship. We are only able to help if we are fully aware of the situation.”

Approximately $1.6 million has been awarded this year to students who will embark on overseas undergraduate degree programmes ranging from Accounting, Actuarial Science, Computer Science, Economics and Criminal Justice to Dental Hygiene, Diesel Engineering, English, Education, Political Science, Pre-Med, Sports Management and Veterinary Studies. Based on the number of confirmed overseas undergraduate scholarship recipients as well as those conditionally approved and those awaiting a decision from the Education Council, it is estimated that a minimum of 170 scholars will be going off to school in the Fall. All of those individuals must attend one of the Secretariat’s meetings in order to receive their first disbursement of funds.

The final meeting for the new scholarship students is scheduled for Saturday, 6 August at the Mary Miller Hall from 5pm to 7pm. For more information, contact the Scholarship Secretariat on 244.2482 or [email protected].

Photo Caption: Attendees at the meeting held on July 23^rd for the new 2016 overseas undergraduate scholarship recipients.