7 News Belize

BTL's Scholarships
posted (August 15, 2012)
2012 makes it 21 years since BTL first began its scholarship program, and today the company held a ceremony to award 29 new recipients.

It's a full 4-year scholarship for the 27 new high school students and 2-year scholarship for the 2 sixth form awardees.

The awardees were formally announced at the ceremony, and 7News was there to see all 29 of them accept the gift of a scholarship that costs anywhere for $1,000 to $3,000 per year.

Here's what the representatives of the company and the awardees told us:

Anjali Vasquez - Public Relations Manager, BTL
"We actually had a really wonderful ceremony, where we actually acknowledge 30 high school and sixth form scholarship recipients. And what they get is a full scholarship. So, for those getting it for highschool, they get all 4 years paid for, tuition and books. We also offer mentoring if they need it - tutoring if they need it. We pretty much get very involved in the education process, as far as they are concerned. We started in April where we sent out the call for applications. So, we sent out countrywide to all the schools. We put it online - these scholarships application - and then, we get them come in. Toward the end of June, we had something like 400 scholarship applications which we had to sift through. And even though we asked for certain things, sometimes they're sent incomplete, but it doesn't stop there. We will literally call back the parent or the student, and tell them that they missed this particular piece of paper, and if they could send it in. We really want to give them a fair chance. And after that, we sift through again. We have a committee that looks at these scholarships, and say that they would like to interview these particulary 75-100 students. This year, we actually interviewed a hundred kids."

Rowan Garel - BTL Scholarship Recipient
"You just work really hard. They took me to an interview, and I was really nervous. I won't lie, but they just told me to tell them who I am - to tell them about Rowan. And so, I did. I feel really good right now. I am really glad that I got this opportunity to receive this scholarship because in this way, I can excel not only in my school, but hopefully, in life."

Daniel Ortiz
"What high school are you planning to go to?"

Rowan Garel
"I'm going to the Belize High School."

Daniel Ortiz
"What are you feeling right now, being a recipient of the scholarship?"

Azizi Hoy - BTL Scholarship Recipient
"I am just really happy. Words can't explain it. It's a joyous moment for me to get this scholarship."

Daniel Ortiz
"What was the process like when you saw the offer for the scholarship?"

Azizi Hoy
"I was happy when they told me that I had this opportunity to get this scholarship because it really showed that all my hard work paid off, and it can help my parents financially, to allow me to continue me studies."

Daniel Ortiz
"And tell us about that interview that many of the recipients are nervous about."

Azizi Hoy
"I was nervous. I didn't know what they were going to ask me, how I was going to react to their questions. I just came out with the truth, told them who I was, like Rowan says, and told them everything that I go through, what I do in my work, and how I am going to try to excel in the future."

Daniel Ortiz
"And what school are you planning to go to?"

Azizi Hoy
"Saint Catherine's Academy."

Anjali Vasquez
"There is no real limitation to what we're willing to pay for that child's success, and we have a very high success rate with our kids. We call them our kids because we have communication with them every semester. they send in their report cards. We're very aware their trends, for instance. If your grades are falling, we call you because we have expectations for you, and we want you to succeed. So it's more than just getting handed a check at the end of the year; you actually become a part of a family."

As part of terms of keeping the scholarship, each recipient must maintain grades in each subject that are at least 5 points higher than the passing grade at the school.

BTL also provides mentorship programs to the recipients to help them maintain their grades.

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