By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama student Jasmine Pinder is the very first recipient of the C Clarke Scholarship — a full-ride academic scholarship — to attend Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.

It was a big moment for the Eight Mile Rock High School senior and her mother, Nicola Pinder, as they received the official announcement by Zoom yesterday. She was one of three finalists vying for the coveted award.

Surrounded by her school guidance counsellors and principal, Jasmine happily accepted the scholarship offer to attend one of the top ranked Black colleges in the US.

“The financial burden has just been lifted,” she said. “I want to thank you.”

Cheers erupted in the room as guidance counsellors Carlene Williams, Tennell Martin, and Dawnell Newton heard the announcement.

Jasmine, who has a 3.9 GPA and wants to major in accounting, said she is happy just to have been selected a finalist.

“Even if I did not get it, it was just amazing to hear I was a finalist because I did not know I would make it this far; thank you for making me the first recipient (of this scholarship).”

Ms Pinder, a single parent, said Jasmine is the youngest of three children. “This is a big milestone; she worked extremely hard, and she is very independent. And being a single mother, I do thank you all.”

C&C Advocacy and Health Services Inc offers two full scholarships to attend MSU. The recipients will receive full scholarship to pay tuition, fees, housing, and meals.

Also at the announcement was Cathlyn Clarke, after whom the scholarship was named. He is a Grand Bahama native who has also lived in Abaco for seven years before moving to Florida at age 11.

He has pledged to help Bahamians back home, particularly in the public schools, benefit from scholarships to attend college abroad.

“I have been over here stateside for 27 years, and I make sure to tap into what is going on back at home and go over to look at several amazing candidates throughout GB and Abaco,” he said.

Mr Clarke was impressed with Jasmine’s application and is convinced she will do well at MSU.

“It was good to see the work you put in at high school in terms of academia, and the ability to know what you want out of your future,” he told the EMRHS senior.

Aaires Coleman, of Baltimore City Community College and former recruiter of undergraduate admissions at MSU, commended Jasmine on meeting all the requirements for the scholarship.

She said that she and Mr Clarke, who both attended MSU together as athletes, have partnered to make the scholarship possible.

“Mr Clarke was adamant and wanted it to benefit the students in the public schools and really wanted to get back to his home country, and I was all on board. We had a lot of applicants, and Jasmine was a stand-out in that process,” she said.

According to Ms Coleman, the scholarship did not require SAT or ACT scores.

Chester Cooper, principal of Eight Mile Rock High School, said that they are proud of Jasmine, who is an excellent student.

“I am overjoyed; it is an exciting time for us. Jasmine is one of those achievers who worked hard from day one. She was one of our first 4.0 students, and she has maintained that GPA throughout high school, and that is commendable,” Mr Cooper said.