by Derrick Scott
WASHINGTON, DC – Five students of Jamaican heritage studying in the United States, have received scholarships. They were awarded the 2024 Jamaican Nationals Association (JNA) College Student Scholarships.
The following students each received a US$1,000 scholarship: Jada Gilfillan, Jamoye Mondie, and Noelle Stennett from Howard University. Toran Powell and Oshin Wilson from the University of the District of Columbia also received this financial grant.
They received their awards at JNA’s annual Leadership Development Scholarship Awards ceremony. The event took place at the Silver Spring Civic Center in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, last Saturday, November 24.
Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Jamaica Ms. Lishann Salmon represented Ambassador Audrey Marks. She commended the JNA of the Metro Washington Area for creating the scholarship assistance, calling the initiative “an outstanding effort in helping students to achieve higher education.”
Ms. Salmon also congratulated the students of Jamaican heritage and called on them not to forget important values and principles as they go forward. “I encourage you to continue to aim high and never abandon the pursuit of your dreams. May I also encourage you, as beneficiaries of the goodwill of others, to also give back to others in need, giving someone else such opportunity in the future,” she said, noting that the noblest endeavor is to devote oneself to service to humanity.
“Education will not make you a more moral person; education will not tell you how to be a person of integrity; it will not make you kind, neither will it make you sensitive to the needs and interests of others,” said Ms. Salmon. “You acquired those values from home, from church, from your family, friends and peers. As educated persons, you must ensure that you hold yourselves to those values and that you pass them on to those that are around you.”
Ms. Salmon praised the JNA for its important role in the Washington area. For nearly five decades, it has improved the lives of Jamaicans living abroad and in Jamaica.
JNA President Ms. Rukie Wilson shared that the JNA’s student outreach program works with the Embassy of Jamaica. This program helps create fellowships and mentoring relationships. It connects university and college students with Jamaican professionals and diplomats in the Washington Metropolitan area.
Wilson explained that JNA scholarship grants are based on high academic excellence, outstanding community service, and financial need.
