TWO University of Guyana (UG) students, Miriam Ogle and Jumaine Levi, on Friday, received the inaugural ‘McGowan Family Education Scholarship’, which was presented during an award ceremony held at the Herdmanston Lodge in Georgetown.

Twenty-year-old Ogle, who is currently studying for a Bachelor’s Degree in Geological Engineering, was awarded $1 million to cover her tuition for four years, while Levi, who is a registered nurse currently studying for a Bachelor’s Degree in Management, was awarded a one-time $200,000 grant towards his tuition.

Speaking with the Sunday Chronicle, Ogle expressed how grateful she is to be a recipient of the award.

“It is a distinct pleasure of mine. It certainly is very prestigious, and to be the very first awardee, I’m truly honoured,” expressed Ogle, who is also a volunteer with the TigerBay Compassionate Ministry.

Presenting the awards at the ceremony were Jeanette McGowan-Grannum, the daughter of the late Basil McGowan, Headmaster of the Comenius Moravian and New Comenius Primary schools, and Orson Ferguson, the grandson of the late Irma Long, also of Comenius Moravian and New Comenius Primary schools.

Ogle and Levi were among 20 applicants for the scholarship. The application process, which commenced in July last year, involved the students having to write an essay about why they deserved the assistance.

Applicants were vetted by a review team headed by McGowan family member Melissa Harding, Dianne Mc Gowan Brutus, Monique Davidson, Joann Davis- Valz and Brooklyn college professor, Ingrid Clark.

Scholarship recipients are required to maintain a GPA of 3.5 or above and to complete 20 hours of unpaid community service each semester. The scholarship will now become an annual feature awarded to matriculated UG students who shared the McGowan family’s commitment to community service.

“The McGowan Family Scholarship was established to honour and continue the commitment of five generations of McGowans to community service, development and engagement in the areas of education, public health, law enforcement, social work, medicine, nursing, law, industry and volunteerism both in Guyana and in the Diaspora,” a statement from the family noted.

Continuation of the scholarships will be managed by a committee chaired by family member Lourdeth Ferguson. The Scholarship Committee also includes Danette McGowan, Natasha Harding, Rock Harding, McGowan-Brutus, Robin July, Monique Davidson, Carl McGowan, Jean McGowan-Grannum and Joan McGowan.

Speaking with the Sunday Chronicle, Ferguson shared that it was after a family reunion in 2017 that the family first formed a family committee, while two years ago, they began discussions on having their own organisation aimed at giving back to society.

“We meet together as a family pretty often and one day we were talking about doing a scholarship and I said that we really need to get on it. We use a lot of our time to volunteer for other organisations, and we spend a lot of time making their visions come true and I felt it was time for us to make our dream come true by doing this scholarship,” Ferguson explained.