It seems like Telemedia is on the news just about every day - not just the ads - there are plenty of those - but the legal entanglements between Government and the Ashcroft alliance.
Thankfully, our next story on Telemedia has nothing to do with all that fuss; it's about this year's crop of scholarship recipients.
Monica Bodden has more:
Monica Bodden Reporting:
For the past 20 years the Belize Telemedia has invested over a million dollars in scholarships for over four hundred Belizean students countrywide.
Today an additional 24 students have been added to that list.
This afternoon, 21 high school scholarships and three tertiary level scholarships were awarded to 24 deserving students who also received special certificates welcoming them into the Telemedia's scholarship family.
Anjali Vasquez - BTL's Public Relations Manager
"These children chosen were based on merit, and of course, their financial need is another thing that we look at and their dreams for the future. And there is the selection process that goes over a couple weeks. Applications come in two months; we've received over 200 applications to this program, and 24 were selected. We had 21 graduates, so we filled with 21 high school scholarships, and then, we had 3 exceptional students that graduated this year, that we awarded them 6th form scholarships."
These students will have the opportunity of completing their four year secondary education at any high school of their choice. Telemedia says this program aims directly at academically nurturing and supporting youngsters.
Anjali Vasquez - BTL's Public Relations Manager
"They send in their application forms with their report cards, and any other additional information that they would like to give. Also we ask them for the reason why they'd like the scholarships, and what they would do with it. These applications are then filtered out. Some come in incomplete; some come in fully completed, but for instance, the grades don't fall in the top 75, because we at least try to interview half. We call them in for an interview, and we go through interview for an entire week and a half. And based on their interview, the committee makes a selection. And then, we call the students and tell them that they've been successful, and they received. The receive a formal letter, and right away, the process begins because they're coming out of standard 6, and they need to know immediately if they will be receiving assistants. So we deal directly with the schools, with book shop - whatever they need, we are there from the time they get the scholarships. So these kids have been working along with the department for a couple weeks now, ever since they've known that they've received the scholarship."
These students will have the opportunity of completing their four year secondary education at any high school of their choice. Telemedia says this program aims directly at academically nurturing and supporting youngsters.
Anjali Vasquez - BTL's Public Relations Manager
"We do this every year. Every year, we have over 450 students successfully graduates out of the program, over the past 20 years. And we keep adding more - as they graduate, we fill the space. Because it's so important, it has to be an ongoing program. Education is not a 4-year deal. Education is not a 1-year scholarship. Education is for your life, so we try to assist in that very sensitive point in time, when the child is coming out of standard. Very often, they don't have the financial aid to go the step further, but they're smart. They have the want and the will; all the need is the money. And that's where step in."
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