The San Pedro Mayor’s Scholarship program has been in existence since Mayor Paz took office in 2003. As a part of her platform to, she has taken it upon herself to place major focus on educating our island’s youth. This was the driving force behind the creation of the Scholarship Program. What started off as an effort by the then Area Representative and the San Pedro Town Council, under the leadership of Mayor Elsa Paz, and assisted a few students, has now turned into a full scholarship program providing assistance to numerous students and schools on the island.
Due to the demand for financial assistance, the Mayor informed The San Pedro Sun, “every year we reach out to various investors and the business community for assistance in this program. This year, we have been able to provide sponsorship to 24 students from the San Pedro High School (SPHS) and a large sum of money to the Isla Bonita Elementary School as well.”
The program is opened to any student attending any school on the island, with a major focus on the SPHS students. Students must possess and main an average of 80% and above to qualify. There is no deadline or beginning date for application. Parents and students are welcome to visit the San Pedro Town Council’s office and submit their application along with letters of recommending from the education institutions that they are attending to be considered for the assistance.
On Friday, January 28th, the SPHS received a total of $28,575.00. This was followed by another presentation to the Isla Bonita Elementary School on Friday, February 4th of $10,400.00.
The presentations were made possible through a joint effort of the SPTC, the UDP Executive Community, Mr. & Mrs. Robert Spica, Mr. Dellbert Tolsdorph, Chris Berlin of Sunrise Realty, Reltsuh Ltd. and Graniel’s Construction. Investors and members of the San Pedro Business Community. The moneys donated will be used towards tuitions for the select students from the two schools. The scholarships are renewed yearly dependent on students’ performance and each year new applications are welcomed.
