Twenty-Five New Scholarships Awarded at Galen University 

Today, twenty-five Galen University students were awarded scholarships in celebration of academic excellence and community support. The university’s scholarship program has been an ongoing commitment for the past twenty years, with over twenty million dollars invested since its inception. News Five’s Britney Gordon attended the ceremony for more details on the Galen scholars.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Every parent wants to see their child achieve greatness by pursuing a higher education. While every parent aspires for this, it is difficult to achieve because education is an expensive investment. Dr. Eve Aird, Provost of Galen University, provided some details on the university’s commitment to providing these scholarships.

 

Dr. Eve Aird, Provost, Galen University

“Galen University throughout its twenty-year history sas always had a very vibrant scholarship program. In fact, over the twenty years of our well, we are now in our twenty-first year actually over the twenty years the previous twenty years of our existence we have actually Invested about twenty million dollars in scholarships that have been awarded to  Belizean students who have come here. We think that this is an impressive record. We’re a small private university and that we’ve been able to do this. And it’s not so much an investment in scholarships, but an investment, a twenty million investment in the human capital development of Belize. A lot of our students who have gotten these scholarships are well placed across Belize and some of them actually work in international bodies such as the IDB and other regional bodies in various professional capacities. This we are very proud of.”

 

Students can apply for either an academic or merit scholarship which evaluates academic performance and financial need, respectively.

 

Dr. Eve Aird

“This morning we are actually awarding twenty-five new scholarships to incoming students and this is in addition to students who are currently enrolled and who are maybe halfway through their programs, three quarter way through the programs, students who will graduate in December, and maybe next year next July. So in total we have about fifty students who are on some form of scholarship at Galen University the scholarships will be awarded to them this morning. They get a scholarship contract that i’ve signed and that they will sign and they will get a certificate that that they can take home with them to say that they are a scholar at Galen University.”

 

Britney Gordon

“So the scholarship covers their tuition?”

 

Dr. Eve Aird

“It covers their tuition. We have some students who are on one hundred percent scholarships, and some students who are on fifty percent or seventy-five percent scholarships. And then they have to pay the other half, the remaining portion of their tuition.”

 

Second-year-student Noralee Burns is a criminal justice major at Galen. She says that it is her first time applying for the scholarship and receiving it is a big blessing to her family.

 

Noralee Burns, Scholarship Recipient

“To be honest, I feel really grateful for this scholarship because it’s an opportunity that not a lot of like people have and I’m so blessed to receive this scholarship and I’ll make sure I make my parents proud and everyone because this is an honor that I’m receiving this scholarship.”

 

Britney Gordon

“Have you always wanted to get into this field of study? What led you to want to pursue it?”

 

Noralee Burns

“Criminal justice from I was little, it was like a major that I really wanted to like, grass, like info and all of that on especially with crime and beliefs and stuff. I actually want to be a lawyer. So I feel like this would have been the perfect field for me.”

 

Burns is completing her courses entirely online, but she still immerses herself in her school life by participating in the events club and being a peer mentor. She is enthusiastic about her field of study and is looking forward to continuing her degree with a rechewed vigor now that tuition is not a concern. She told us what she hopes to gain from her time at Galen.

 

Norlee Burns

“Everything that criminal justice has to offer. The courses, all the different subjects. I’m also a peer mentor here, so whatever here has to offer to me.”

 

Britney Gordon

“How long is your degree going to be?”

 

Noralee Burns

“The degree, to be honest, it’s four years, but I’m already at my second year, soon finish.”

 

Aird explains that these scholarships are more than an investment, they are a commitment. One that the school plans to keep with all recipients for the entirety of their time at the school.

 

Dr. Eve Aird

“This is for the duration of their program. And our students are closely monitored, and they’re closely supported. We have a Academic Success Center that might work with the student to ensure that they keep a required GPA of 3.0. And if they don’t meet that GPA initially, it doesn’t mean that we take away the scholarship. We work with the students to ensure that they can achieve their academic success, which is ultimately what we want them to do. And we provide them with all the support that they need, which includes academic counseling, academic support. If they need other kinds of counseling, we provide that for them as well.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.