Two female students at the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus have received bursaries from CIBC Caribbean bank as both institutions collaborate to observe International Women’s Day, 2025.
The students – Makkedah Lawrence and Zalika Fields – were selected based on an essay competition launched by the university to select the top two entries for the bursaries. The essays were based on the theme for IWD, Accelerate Action.
“International Women’s Day has long stood as a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. This year’s theme reminds us that gender equity isn’t simply a women’s issue but a fundamental human right that benefits us all.
“Education remains one of the most powerful vehicles for empowerment. The bursaries we present today represent more than financial support – they symbolize belief in potential, recognition of merit, and investment in our collective future,” said FIC spokesman Shavar Maloney at Thursday’s presentation ceremony.
New FIC Registrar, Dr. Camille Samuel, congratulated the winners for their ‘fantastic’ essays noting that they were completed in a short period of time. “This is a very important time for us, not just as we reflect on what it means to celebrate International Women’s Day, because we do understand the many struggles women have had to endure to get through to where we all are today. Sometimes, with the passage of time, it is very easy to forget; it is very easy to look around and say, what more is there to accomplish? We have women pilots, we have women in banking, there was a time when they said that male brain was stronger than that of a female. But it was soon recognized that a woman’s voice was important for the overall development of society,” she observed.
Lending a voice to the occasion was CIBC Caribbean Corporate Manager, Priscilla Leonce who urged the recipients to use the theme of the IWD celebration, Accelerate Action, to seize the moments, to push beyond barriers and to rise above challenges.
“Acceleration alone is not enough. Action is the force that turns potential into results, ideas into tangible outcomes. It is not enough to simply have a vision or a dream; you must act on it,” she stated.
The presentation of bursaries to outstanding UWI FIC female students has become an annual undertaking of CIBC Caribbean.
(The two winning essays are published in today’s paper)
