13 Vincentians awarded Taiwan scholarships

Thirteen young Vincentians on Friday received Taiwan scholarship certificates from Weber Shih, Taiwan’s ambassador to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, during a ceremony at the National Public Library in Kingstown.

The ceremony heard addresses from Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Girlyn Miguel, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sen. Camillo Gonsalves.

In his remark, Shih said that Taiwan, an island country like St. Vincent and the Grenadines, has very little natural resources.

It is the investment in education that provides enough quality human resources for the economic development of the Asian nation, he said.

The Taiwan Scholarship, launched by the government Taiwan in 2004, is aiming to prepare outstanding professionals and experts to meet the needs of Taiwan’s developing allies.

As of this year, around 100 Vincentian youths have been awarded the scholarship to pursue higher education in Taiwan, and more and more of them have gradated and come back to make contributions to the public and private sectors.

Shih also indicated that over the years, both countries have enjoyed cordial relations and that the cooperation has been bearing juicy fruits in different fields.

The Scholarship Program has further bound the existing relations between the two countries and boosted the friendship, taking it beyond government-to-government relations.

Shih encouraged the recipients to study hard and appreciate the beautiful culture and the warm hospitality of Taiwan.

In their remarks, Gonsalves encouraged the recipients to take the precious opportunity to learn Mandarin and immerse themselves to the life and culture in Taiwan.

Miguel expressed gratitude to the government and people of Taiwan for offering higher education opportunities to Vincentian youth.

Sen. Gonsalves also congratulated the recipients and shared with them his experience of studying abroad.

Ten of the 13 recipients will pursue bachelor’s degrees, while the others will do master’s degrees.

The fields of study include counseling psychology, public health, civil engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering, tropical agriculture, medical laboratory sciences, animal science, etc.

Also attending the ceremony were Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Education Nicole Bonadie-Baker, Deputy Chief Education Officer Beverly Neptue, President of SVG Taiwan Alumni Association Gordon Shallow, First Secretaries Philip Shih and Richard Chen of the Taiwan Embassy and parents and relatives of the recipients.

The 2014 Taiwan Scholarship recipients

1. Kimmette Robertson, a graduate of the University of West Indies, will pursue a master’s degree in counseling psychology at Asia University.
2. Dr. Bettie Jn Baptiste-Adam, a dentist, will pursue a master’s degree in public health at Taipei Medical University.
3. Quincy James, a graduate of the University of the West Indies, will pursue civil engineering as his postgraduate major, before that he will take the language programme at National Cheng Kung University.
4. Yannick John, a graduate of the SVG Community College, will pursue a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at I-Sou University. Before that, he will take the language programme for one year at the same University.
5. Brandon Benn, a graduate of SVG Community College, will pursue a bachelor’s degree in computer science at Natioanl Tsing-Hua University. Before that, he will take the language programme for one year at the National Taiwan Normal University.
6. Devan Peters, a graduate of SVG Community College, will pursue a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Tamkang University. Before that, he will take the language programme for one year at the National Taiwan Normal University.
7. Michaelia Marshall, a graduate of SVG Community College, will take the language programme at National Taiwan Normal University for her first year. And she aims to pursue animal science as her undergraduate major.
8. Shemon Baptiste, a graduate os SVG Community College, will take the language programme at National Taiwan Normal University for her first year. And she aims to pursue mechanical engineering as her undergraduate major.
9. Rafique Prescott, a graduate of SVG Community College, will pursue a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Kunshun University.
10. La Neika Prince, is a graduate of SVG Community College, will take the language programme at National Taiwan Normal University for her first year. She aims to pursue forensic psychology as her undergraduate major.
11. Tiffesha Telesford, a graduate of SVG Community College, will take the language programme at National Taiwan Normal University for her first year. She aims to pursue statistcs as her undergraduate major.
12. Rolissa Ballantyne, a graduate of SVG Community College, will pursue a bachelor’s degree in tropical agriculture at National Pintung University.
13. Brookanna Griffith, a graduate of SVG Community College, will pursue a bachelor’s degree in medical laboratory science and biotechnology at Kaohsiung Medical University.