Seven standout scholars from the University of the West Indies (UWI) held an audience with CIBC Caribbean CEO Mark St. Hill.

Sponsored by the bank, these scholars were bestowed with insights and career guidance during the student awards of excellence reception at the UWI Cave Hill campus.

Under a new format, the event fostered an environment of genuine interaction, allowing students to freely engage with their sponsors. For the scholars, this was an unparalleled chance to rub shoulders with industry leaders. St. Hill, engaged in lively conversations that ranged from their aspirations to future endeavours beyond the campus.

Among the scholars was Nelson Smith, a second-year medical student from the Bahamas, whose dream of becoming a paediatrician shone brightly as he expressed his gratitude for the scholarship, acknowledging its transformative impact on his journey. Chestann Octave, a St. Lucian pursuing studies in human resource management, echoed sentiments of appreciation, attributing her success to the unwavering support of her parents and the enduring belief in the mantra that hard work yields rewards.

The CIBC scholarship winners were chosen from a variety of disciplines and various countries where the bank operates. Second-year students Precious Doyle, Rayha Proverbs, Chelsea Laing and Nia Haynes are studying French with management, medicine, law and early childhood education respectively, and are from Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Bahamas and Jamaica.

Nia explained that she has two siblings at university in Jamaica, and so her scholarship will certainly help her entire family as it is ‘expensive to come to Barbados’ and her mother had to sacrifice for that to happen, but she knew of her passion for education which runs in the family.  Nia’s grandmother and two aunts have served as educators in Jamaica, the Bahamas and Cayman Islands.  

Rayha spoke about going into clinicals next semester and the long list of items that she now had to source, from her stethoscope and hammers to scrubs, books and comfortable shoes. She confirmed that she was grateful that she now had the scholarship funds to cover these additional expenses.  

The sole chemistry and mathematics student Kiara Hunte, a Barbadian Queens College alumnus, is doing this double major to go to China afterwards to study for her master’s in order to fulfil her ambition of becoming a mechanical engineer. To achieve this, she has already applied for one of the Chinese scholarships and to three universities in China.

She is waiting and hoping for a positive reply from at least one of them.

As the CIBC Caribbean CEO chatted with the students, he offered them some advice “Be open to learning all that you can inside and outside of the classroom. You can get a lot from outside the classroom simply by being open to the cultures around you and the many people, like other students, that you will meet during your time away from home. Be open and absorb as much as you can while away. You always know where your anchor or grounding is…at home… but learn as much as you can while away.” 

Lyndon Gardiner, chairperson at interCaribbean Airways was the featured speaker at the reception and also gave the students some valuable advice, citing his own experience as an example and sharing what he went through as a young man to reach the position he now held.

“Never lose faith in your visions, your ambitions and your ability; Our toughest challenges shape our greatest strengths; In times of difficulty surround yourself with mentors and community; Uplift others as you climb, share knowledge and pull each other up; Trust that through your trials, you are being molded into who you were meant to become and Pursue excellence with unwavering determination,”  were among the many words of advice he shared with the students