UWI student acknowledges Canadians contribution to scholarships
May 30, 2023
In the final year of a Business Administration program at a community college in Tortola, Sabraina Perry and her family were left homeless after two Category Five hurricanes caused havoc in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in a two-week span in September 2017.
Living without running water and electricity for several months in rough conditions could easily have been an excuse to ease off the academic pedal.
Perry didn’t.
Instead, she stepped on the gas, graduated with a 3.36 grade point average and was a Phi Theta Kappa Honour Society provisional member.
With Perry’s family facing huge financial constraints because of the hurricanes, she had to discard thoughts of attending an American university.
After discussions with her mother, the decision was made to enroll at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open campus in BVI even though she had no idea where the funds would come from.
Perry received a government scholarship to start the program, but had to work to cover tuition costs.
Sabraina Perry (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
While holding down a full-time job as a seasonal sales assistant and taking the maximum number of classes allowed, she saw a post for a UWI Toronto Awards scholarship while searching for financial aid and applied.
Successful, Perry will complete her online Bachelor of Marketing degree on time this year.
“This scholarship lifted a burden off my shoulders by paying off my educational expenses and allowing me to concentrate solely on finishing my degree,” the former CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank summer intern said at the UWI Toronto Benefit Awards gala on April 29. “This is my story, but so many of my colleagues are going through similar situations. Because of your support over the years, you have enabled students to fulfil their goals of securing a university education.”
On her first visit to Canada, Perry said she plans to start a company that will promote tourism through cultural heritage.
Since the scholarship program started 14 years ago, nearly 800 scholarships have been awarded to UWI students.
“More than ever, the students in the Caribbean need us,” said Co-Patron Donette Chin-Loy Chang. “A global pandemic has exacerbated already struggling economies of the region and has almost crippled the education of thousands who everyday themselves struggle just to meet housing, food and other basic needs.”
Despite the setbacks, she noted that many UWI graduates go on to become exceptional societal contributors.
“I know they are deeply grateful because over the years, they have told us so,” added Chin-Loy Chang.
UWI Toronto Benefit Awards Gala co-chair Donette Chin-Loy Chang (r) with co-patron Brigitte Chang and her children Lucas & Savanna (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
UWI Vice-Chancellor Hilary Beckles acknowledged the Toronto fundraising team for generating an incredible source of financial assistance for Caribbean students.
Across the five campuses, he said there are many able students who are financially challenged and the scholarship funds raised through the galas ensure that some of the brightest minds in the region can complete their education and go on to make significant contributions to their countries, the region and the world.
“Each year, this event grows stronger and stronger, thanks to the leadership of Donette Chin-Loy Chang, her five-star family and a strong ‘A’ team,” Beckles said. “Each year, the impact seems to be greater and greater. I believe it has something to do with the fact that this event is a morale and ethical event. It has an infrastructure beyond the financial. This is about holding up those who do need to be held. It is the coming together of an ethical response on our part and the commitment to university excellence.”
He noted that Canada’s footprint is strong on all of UWI campuses.
The three-story Canada Hall was the first St. Augustine campus residence built in 1963 to accommodate 192 students and the Philip Sherlock Hall, built by the Canadian government, was the only student residence for many years at Cave Hill campus in Barbados.
Breaking into the top four per cent of the best universities in the world in 2018, UWI was ranked 21st among Latin American universities last year.
“We are an elite university, but we are not an elitist university,” said Beckles. “We are a university for the people and we are a public university. We have about 50,000 students on our campuses and 85 per cent of them are from very humble homes. They are working class children, the children of the poor and we are committed to the upliftment of this vast majority of people who, through no fault of their own, have found it difficult just to survive, furthermore to go to university. Our sleeves are always rolled up in search of resources to give these children an opportunity because if you take a cohort 18 to 30 in the English-speaking Caribbean, we have the lowest enrolment in education in this entire hemisphere. This gives our university a special and heroic mandate because we know that a country’s potential for economic development is an expression of the number of its citizens who have had skills and professional training and academic development. Our university is on the morale quest to defeat the forces of history and to uplift the children of the vast majority.”
UWI Vice-Chancellor Sir Hilary Beckles & Scotiabank Vice-President Anya Schnoor (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Scotiabank has been the event lead sponsor from the inception.
Jamaican-born Anya Schnoor, the Vice-President of Caribbean, Central America, Uruguay and International Banking, announced that the bank is increasing its annual contribution to the gala from $75,000 to $100,000.
“As an organization, we have always believed that our success is intrinsically tied to the communities that we serve,” she said. “We endeavour to be a catalyst for positive change and are incredibly proud to have been the lead sponsor. We are helping remove barriers for advancement, increasing access to opportunities and really forming the next generation of leaders in the Caribbean. We are here because we have the opportunity but, most importantly, the commitment to continue making a difference and to help shape the lives of many of our future leaders and their communities across the Caribbean.”
Every year, individuals and organizations making significant contributions in Canada and around the world are honoured.
Ray Williams was the recipient of a UWI Vice-Chancellor Award (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Vice-Chancellor Awards were presented to National Bank Financial Vice-Chairman with responsibility for Financial Markets Ray Williams and Kevin Hibbert who is Sprott Inc. Chief Financial Officer, Senior Managing Partner and Co-Head of Enterprise Shared Services Group.
Vice-Chancellor Award recipient Kevin Hibbert with his wife Anne-Marie and their son Caleb (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
The G. Raymond Chang Memorial Award recipient was Sagicor Financial Company Ltd. former President & Chief Executive Officer Dodridge Miller who retired in March after three decades of service with the financial services conglomerate, Black North Initiative was recognized with the Chancellor’s Award and actor/singer Sheryl Lee Ralph received the Luminary Award.
Executive Director Dahabo Ahmed-Omer received the Chancellor’s Award on behalf of the Black North Initiative (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Lee Ralph promised to start a scholarship in her family’s name for UWI students.
Established in 1948 as the University College of the West Indies in a special relationship with the University of London, UWI is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
G. Raymond Chang Memorial Award winner Dodridge Miller shares the special moment with UWI Executive Director of Advancement Elizabeth Buchanan-Hind (l), UWI Toronto Benefit Awards Gala co-patron Donette Chin-Loy Chang & federal Minister Ahmed Hussen (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
The institution’s first cohort comprised 23 male and 10 female students who began their post-secondary journey in wooden huts in Jamaica that once housed war refugees from Malta and Gibraltar.
George Brown College Legal Counsel Giselle Basanta (l), Lincoln Alexander School of Law Executive Director for Advancement MaryClaire Brooks and Toronto Metropolitan University Assistant VP with responsibility for Engagement & University Advancement Krishan Mehta attended the fundraising gala (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
