JPS EWP Grant is a lifeline for UTech’s engineering students

Six final-year University of Technology (UTech) engineering students are now breathing easier.

Thanks to a welcome reprieve received from the East-West Power (EWP) Korea scholarship grants facilitated through the JPS Foundation, their collective grant valued at $3 million for their last year of study in the engineering faculty, is fully paid for. 

The scholarship-earning group — Geri-Ann Miller, Gabrielle Beepat, Ackeem Grant, Allroy Horne, Jordon Jackson and Le-Rhone Miller — were feted at a luncheon last Wednesday in the executive offices of JPS by their benefactor EWP, one of two Asian-based majority shareholder owners of the island’s energy company.  

For 25-year-old Ackeem Grant, a civil engineering student at UTech, making the shortlist for EWP’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) scholarship grant, is a source of immense pride and relief.  

“Without this scholarship, I would have had to work to pay my tuition, which has increased yearly. My mother is the only one supporting me, and she has three of us,” Grant disclosed post-luncheon in conversation with JPS execs. 

“Earning this scholarship takes a huge burden off of her and it means a lot so I am very grateful to EWP for this opportunity,” the tertiary student said.  Grant added that he had applied for several scholarships elsewhere but was unsuccessful, which made securing a five-figure educational waiver even more fulfilling. 

Similar sentiments of gratitude for paid-up tuition were also expressed by Grant’s fellow student Geri-Ann Miller, who is studying chemical engineering. 

“My parents are educators and I also have a younger brother starting high school now, so this grant will definitely alleviate some of the financial burden for this final year,” she shared.

Miller, who had learnt of her selection among the EWP scholarship awardees back in August while on the work and travel programme in the United States, shifted her career focus to engineering in her latter secondary school years after initially considering becoming an ophthalmologist. 

“It was in sixth form, and I was looking at where the world was going and I knew STEM was a major part of that, and my dad who is a health educator officer was always advocating for STEM,” the 22-year-old shared of her rationale to pursue engineering as a career.

East-West Power (EWP) Korea Representative and JPS Foundation Director Yun Suk Choi (second left) welcomed University of Technology electrical engineering student Allroy Horne (right) to a recent luncheon hosted at the New Kingston head offices of JPS to honour six final-year engineering students who were awarded the JPS Foundation Power Up EWP STEM scholarship grants that totalled $3 million. Looking on are JPS President and CEO Hugh Grant and JPS Foundation Head Sophia Lewis.

Warmly welcoming the six scholarship recipients into the corporate boardroom, JPS Foundation Officer and EWP Representative in Jamaica Yun Suk Choi was effusive in praise of their articulated futures which they had outlined in their scholarship essay submissions.

In-between handshakes and convivial chatter, Choi told them: “I read all the essays that were submitted for the scholarship.  I was impressed that all of you were most interested in Jamaica’s energy policy, and I believe that engineers can change the world through their actions.” 

Meanwhile, JPS President and CEO Hugh Grant shared with the university students that he is an alumnus of UTech, dating back three decades when he was enrolled at the institution, then known formerly as the College of Arts, Science and Technology (CAST). 

“It speaks to the possibilities of what could be,” he told them of what their life journey could also lead to. “The energy industry is in transition, and we are looking to unlock a cleaner future. Your skill set is in high demand,” Grant told the chemical, electrical and civil engineering students. “We will need great minds like you to unlock the future of energy,” the CEO shared.

The JPS President implored the students to adhere to a three-point life code to achieve success. “Be the leader you want others to be, always be an avid learner, and be prepared to go the extra mile,” Grant advised. “These scholarships are a gateway to opportunities. This is a moment for you all to seize what you want your future to look like.”