Come September, Carissa Becan will be heading to Glenmuir High School as one of the top performing students at Davis Primary School in Old Harbour.
The soft spoken student was overwhelmed with joy on Friday at the Old Harbour Bay Community Centre, where New Fortress Energy hosted their annual back-to-school and health fair.
“My mother has been struggling financially, and I know that this will help me with my school expenses,” she shared with Freedom Come Rain.
‘This’ being a $35,000 grant she received from the company for being one of the top performing Primary Exit Profile (PEP) students, as well as a book voucher valued at $10,000 along with a backpack with school supplies.
Her guidance counsellor, Tanisha Johnson, who spoke up for her, informed her that she has come a long way from the shy student that started at the school six years ago.
“Carissa is a very quiet student; I push her a lot; she is a very reserved student, and to see her mould and matriculate into this person, I can say kudos to her mother and also to myself,” she stated.
According to Johnson, she had to encourage her every step of the way, even talking to her mother about pushing her to be a prefect.
Stating her pride in her, Johnson also expressed her gratitude to the energy company for giving not just Carissa a grant but to other students at her school, including PEP Grants to 41 students, book vouchers and backpacks.
Since its inception in Jamaica in 2016, the New Fortress Energy Jamaica Foundation has provided educational support for thousands of high-potential but needy students across all levels of the education system. To date, the NFE Jamaica Foundation has invested over JA$100 million in back-to-school activities impacting well over 10,000 students.
For this upcoming academic year (2024-2025), more than 2,000 students across primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions in Clarendon, Old Harbour, and St. James benefited from financial aid, bursaries, medical, dental, and school supplies from the NFE Jamaica Foundation’s annual back-to-school programme.
For New Fortress Energy, there is no better way to show they care than to invest in education. They are driven by the mandate that everybody needs education is a critical tool, a critical resource that everybody needs, be it rich or poor. they use education to open doors right across the world.