Through the annual Leadership & Book Support Scholarships, JNA is helping to build the next generation of leaders who can give back to community. This year, the Student Outreach & Educational Support (SOES) Committee, which takes the lead on this project, is aiming to raise $25,000 for scholarships to students of Jamaican heritage attending colleges in the WMA.
However, there are several challenges this year to meeting this goal.
First, in the past, JNA awarded its scholarships at its annual Student Leadership Awards & Networking Reception, and most of the funding for these scholarships was raised around this event. While the 2020 awards are tentatively scheduled for October 2020, social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the SOES.
Committee to consider alternate virtual events or other activities to reach its funding goal. Please offer your ideas and volunteer at info@jnaofdc.org.
Second, the need is even greater and the scope more challenging as we attempt to unravel the ramifications of the changing federal policies regarding foreign students attending schools in the United States.
Your contribution makes a difference.
In a recent conversation with Justine Braham one of our 2019 Scholarship awardees, Justine expressed her gratitude to JNA and shared the level of uncertainty students are facing:
“Adjusting during the pandemic has been difficult in terms of school. I am technically in my final year of dental school now. Still going to school via online media but most of dental education especially at my stage cannot be done online. As it relates to taking the remainder of my board and licensure exams those things can’t happen until everything has re-opened. This affects my ability to practice as a dentist and apply to residency programs for post-graduation. There is a lot of uncertainty that I am doing my best not to stress out about as it relates to school. As it relates to everyday life, I am in good health and I have everything I need to survive in terms of access to food and being able to pay my rent. For that I am grateful of course.”
Information on sponsorships and donations via PayPal can be found here.
This program is led by the Student Outreach & Leadership (SOES) Committee, which is co-chaired by Jennifer Asher.
