2 Indigenous women receive SBM Offshore Guyana scholarship
Kimberly Kenyon and Graziella Abraham with SBM Offshore Guyana’s General Manager, Martin Cheong; Human Resource Manager, Onecia Johnson; the University of Guyana’s Vice Chancellor, Dr Paloma Mohamed-Martin, and the Education Ministry’s Deputy Chief Education Officer with responsibility for Amerindian and Hinterland Development, Marti De Souza
SBM Offshore Guyana has announced that Kimberly Kenyon and Graziella Abraham have been awarded scholarships to pursue their tertiary education in varying engineering fields at the University of Guyana.
Through the company’s Scholarship Programme for Indigenous Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), the young women will receive full financial support for the academic year 2023/2024, which includes tuition, accommodation, transportation, books and other resources required to pursue their respective disciplines.
The company said on Saturday that during a small ceremony, Kenyon and Abraham were officially presented with their letters of acceptance by General Manger Martin Cheong. In attendance were the University of Guyana’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin and Deputy Chief Education Officer with responsibility for Amerindian and Hinterland Development, Marti De Souza.
Kenyon, a first-year student pursuing an Associate of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering, expressed her gratitude, saying, “I feel honoured to be given this scholarship. I think it’s a big opportunity for myself and my colleague; It’s like a weight lifted off your shoulders to actually put your full focus on your studies.”
Abraham, who is also a first-year student, will be pursuing an Associate of Science Degree in Civil Engineering. She highlighted that the scholarship relieves her of the financial responsibility attached to pursuing higher education and training so that she can focus solely on her academic pursuits. She said, “I can put all my efforts towards getting good grades, and I can put all my efforts towards making sure that I study without that pressure of financial stress, so this scholarship really and truly benefits me a lot.”
The scholarship programme is one of several programmes offered by SBM Offshore Guyana, the company said, adding that it is aimed at furnishing the local workforce with the skills needed for the oil and gas industry. Other capacity-building programmes undertaken by the company include the Graduate Engineers’ Programme and Trainee Technician Programme, both of which provide international training for their beneficiaries.
