Jerome Fitzgerald, Minister of Education, Science and Technology, along with Mr. Manuel Cutillas, Chairman of the Lyford Cay Foundation made the announcement of Mr. Shannon Butler as the 2013 All-Bahamas Merit Scholarship winner and recipient of a four year-$140,000 scholarship.
Shannon who is the nineteenth (19th) recipient of the All Bahamas Merit Award was described by Minister Fitzgerald as “a very intelligent and focused individual; one who is mature far beyond his age.” He has an impressive academic record having achieved ten (10) BGCSE Awards with nine (9) A s and 1B and graduated from high school with a 3.95 grade point average.
In January 2013, Shannon won the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s awards for the Best BGCSE Results in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas; The Best BGCSE Results in an Independent School and Highest Grade in Mathematics. He was the Deputy Head Boy at Queen’s College and its Valedictorian. He is also the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity 2013 Valedictorian. The 2013 All-Bahamas Merit Scholar plans to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Medicine at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
The outstanding scholar served as a Peer Tutor/Mentor at his school and is already inspiring others with his success. Shortly after learning of his achievements at the BGCSE/BJC Awards in January, the students of the R. N. Gomez All-Age School in the Berry Islands invited him to be their guest speaker at a special assembly.
In response to winning the award, Shannon thanked the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Lyford Cay Foundation and the Central Bank of The Bahamas for continuing to invest in the lives of young Bahamians through the granting of these prestigious scholarship awards.
“It is extremely humbling to be named the recipient of the 2013 All Bahamas Merit Scholarship and to know that he selection committee and donors of the scholarship have faith in me, my dreams and my capabilities. I never imagined that I would be sitting here today as the proud recipient of these awards, and thus it comes as a very pleasant surprise; one that will help me tremendously in the pursuit of my dreams at university. It is also an extraordinary honour to be chosen to receive this award among so many other equally intelligent and well rounded applicants,” stated Shannon.
Shannon revealed that he intends to use the award to advance his life and eventually improve the lives of his fellow Bahamians. He pledged to make his country proud his education journey.
Mr. Cutillas in his remarks at the press conference stated that the first award was made in 1993, and previous All-Bahamas Merit scholars are making tremendous contributions to the development of the country in a wide variety of fields.
“From economics and computer science to electrical engineering and medicine, to the arts and education, physics and mathematics … the list is very long, and we are extremely proud of them all,” said the Lyford Cay Chairman.
He further noted that each year the pool of applicants is simply astounding in terms of the talents and achievements that the students have already demonstrated at such a young age.
Both Minister Fitzgerald and Mr. Cutillas acknowledged the hard work and diligence of the National Scholarship Committee in the selection process. Comprising the committee are: Mr. William Poitier, Chairman; Ms. Monique Hinsey, Director of Scholarship Programme & Alumni Affairs, Lyford Cay Foundation; Ms. Tanya McCartney, Managing Director, RBC/ Finco; Dr. Ian Strachan, Associate Professor, The College of The Bahamas; Miss Vonya Ifill, former National Merit Scholarship recipient/ Bahamar Associate and Mr. Reginald Saunders, Administrator, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
Ministry of Education
Caption: Pictured at the presentation of the award l-r are: Mrs. Lisa Adderley, Deputy Scholarship Administrator, Scholarship and Education Loan Division (SELD); Mr. William Poitier, Chairman, National Scholarship Committee; Mrs. Nicole Campbell., Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology; Jerome Fitzgerald, Minister of Education, Science and Technology; Shannon Butler, 2013 All Bahamas Merit Scholar; Mr. Manuel Cutillas, Chairman, Lyford Cay Foundation; Reece Butler, Shannon’s Brother; Mrs. Wendy Butler, Shannon’s Mother; Mr. Peter Butler, Shannon’s Father and Mr. Reginald Saunders, Administrator, (SELD).
