Charlestown, Nevis, August 23, 2019 (DBSKN) — A member of the Chevening Alumni Association of St. Kitts and Nevis is thanking the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis (DBSKN), and the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) for supporting the association when it held the 2019 edition of ‘Get set and ready for University’ seminar in Nevis last week.
The seminar which was sponsored by the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis was held on Saturday August 17 at the St. Paul’s Anglican Church Hall in Charlestown and according to association member, the Hon Hazel Brandy-Williams who is also the Junior Minister of Health in the Nevis Island Administration, it aimed at preparing persons who are desirous of going off to study.
Hon Brandy-Williams noted that the St. Kitts-Nevis Chevening Alumni Association has been holding the seminars for a number of years as a way to help prepare youngsters, adding: “We are equipping them with the necessary information and guidelines that they need to get them prepared and eventually go off to university.”
Master of ceremonies was Mr Augustine Merchant, a Nevis-based member of the St. Kitts-Nevis Chevening Alumni Group. Speakers included group member Ms Jihan Williams, who spoke on the topic ‘I want to study, where do I begin’.
On behalf of the St. Kitts-Nevis Chevening Alumni Group leader Mrs Sonia Boddie-Thompson, Ms Jihan Williams made a presentation on ‘All you need to know about scholarships’, while member, Mr Crios Freeman spoke on ‘I got accepted, what should I do before I leave home?”
Participants were advised that not all would be lucky to get scholarships to enable them to go to universities for further education, and would therefore require to obtain student loans to allow them achieve their life-long dreams of achieving university education.
An official from the Nevis branch of the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis, Credit Risk Analyst Ms Corliss Wilkinson, presented on the topic ‘How do I access a student loan?’ Also present was Development Bank’s Marketing Officer, Ms Vernitha Evelyn-Maynard.
Ms Wilkinson observed that the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis is the leading institution in the Federation in the Student Loans Assistance Programme, and explained that it specialises in offering loan packages to candidates who wish to pursue higher education, and offers a maximum loan of US$35,000.
“In order to avoid delays in your school’s Orientation and Registration, applications must be submitted well in advance to go through the application procedures,” advised Ms Wilkinson. “You must have an acceptance letter from an accredited university, and adequate security must be provided such as guarantors, or real estate.”
The final speaker at the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis-sponsored ‘Get set and ready for University’ seminar was Ms Zhanela Claxton, Principal Education Officer in the Nevis Island Administration, whose topic was ‘How do I make the best of my University Experience?’
“I would like to thank the Development Bank who has been a major sponsor over the years, and the Nevis Island Administration,” said Junior Minister the Hon Hazel Brandy-Williams at the end of the seminar. “I would also like to thank the priest and people of St. Paul’s Anglican Church for loaning us their school room as well for this function, and all other partners who would have come on board from time to time to assist us in preparing our young people – we say a heartfelt thank you to them.”
