Reunion Gold Corporation awards scholarships to 10 budding geologists

Ten geology students from the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Engineering and Technology were recently awarded one-year scholarships which will allow them to continue their studies at the tertiary institution.

The scholarship funds which will benefit the students from years two to four were handed over by officials from the Reunion Gold Corporation via a simple ceremony at the Turkeyen Campus.

The scholarships are made available to honour Senior Geologist of Reunion Gold Corporation, Marian Moroney.
At the event, the university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Paloma Mohamed Martin expressed her sincere appreciation to the company for its generosity toward students.
She underlined the significant contributions made by Moroney, noting that she would be proud of the initiative. She also expressed special thanks to the Chairman of Reunion Gold Corporation, David A Fennel, for being the key impetus behind the awards.

According to the VC, the awardees of the scholarships, even though very deserving, should consider themselves fortunate “because this is not a scholarship that is given to any and every student, there were some stipulations, students had to be of very high sterling quality of 3.6 and above grade point average (GPA).”
Additionally, Prof Mohamed Martin noted that Moroney will be pleased to see female geology students being well represented in the selection process.
“As I looked through the profiles, I saw quite a few young ladies; and I was so glad to see that as this field is mostly dominated by men. I am also happy to see the young men as we do not want our young men to fall behind, but we want you to be equal,” the Vice Chancellor expressed.

Managing Director of VNK Logistics – the company that provides logistical services to Reunion Gold Corporation – Glenis Beaton noted that Reunion Gold is always willing to give back to society.
On the other hand, Vice President of the company, Justin Vandertorn highlighted that the corporation is very keen to support the geology industry in Guyana.
“Getting good geologists in our industry is what we do well because we like to do events like this, and we like to support the university. We like to support students and we want people to understand what they are getting into when they come into an exploration career because an exploration career can be very rewarding,” Vandertorn related.

Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Verlyn Klass explained that the students were selected from the 2nd, 3rd and 4th years of her faculty.
“We allowed all of our students to know of the offer and we encouraged them to apply. We looked at their GPA and we would have awarded those with the highest GPAs.”
“I, therefore, extend my congratulations to all of them for getting these scholarship awards. I understand someone shouted when they got the call, so, I know they are all grateful and we are very grateful to Reunion Gold for this offer,” Dean Klass further added.

Industrial Intern Officer, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Anil James also expressed thanks to Reunion Gold Corporation for providing the scholarships to the students.
Responding on behalf of the students, one of the beneficiaries, Garvin Douglas stated, “I was very excited when I received the call because honestly, I would have never expected to get an opportunity like this; it is quite spectacular because it inspires me, and I am sure it inspires other persons here to push until the end.”
The students who were awarded the scholarships are Claire Ceres, Chantel Setal, Sherri Ann Welcome, Fonda Major, Luanna Boodie, Shyon Niles, Hendricks Fernandes, Talissa Rawlins, Garvin Douglas, and Judiah Jomaine.
Also present at the ceremony were the Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Basheer Khan and other officials from the university.