KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent: – Two nationals of this Caribbean nation are the first international students to get basketball scholarships from a particular university in Taiwan.
Craiglee Sam, 22, and Cregg Friday, 20, of Paget Farm, on the Grenadine island of Bequia, leave the state on Thursday for Taiwan, where they will read for first degrees in tourism and travel at Ming Chuan University in capital city Taipei.
Ming Chuan University has the highest concentration of international students in Taiwan and the largest population of Vincentian students in that Asian nation.
A release from the Bequia Basketball Association (BBA) said that the students received complete four-year scholarships, inclusive of school fees and board.
The youths are both 6’6” and play centre and power-forward positions for Bequia Tech Rising Stars and Bequia All-Stars Basketball Club.
Sam was adjudged the overall division most valuable player and his team’s most valuable player at the 11th Annual Bequia Basketball Tournament, which ended last Sunday.
The scholarships were sourced by BBA President Sabrina Mitchell with the assistance of Vincentian students in Taiwan.
The release noted that while the young Bequia players join a Vincentian student community, already at Ming Chuan University, they are the first international students to receive admission to the university via a sports scholarship.
It said that the scholarships, which have been in the works since April, have just recently been confirmed.
Ambassador Leo Lee of the Taiwan embassy here assisted in the visa documentation and facilitation of travel for the players.