Ramona Mascoll scholarships awarded to first nursing assistant student

Three Barbados Community College (BCC) nursing students, including the first nursing assistant student to receive the award, were honoured on International Nurses’ Day with Ramona Mascoll/CIBC Caribbean scholarships.

The 2026 recipients – Shaniqua Neblett, Jesseca Holder and Giselle Griffith – each received $2 000 to assist with registration fees, books and uniforms, as CIBC Caribbean continued the programme for a sixth consecutive year on Tuesday.

Principal Annette Alleyne said the award not only celebrated the students but also honoured the late nurse Ramona Mascoll, whom she described as “one of those frontline workers who, as a nurse, helped us to survive the COVID-19 pandemic”.

“So today we reflect on her life of service, her life of dedication, and her commitment to excellence as one of those frontline workers,” she said.

Acknowledging the significance of the day, Alleyne said: “So today, May the 12th, we celebrate International Nurses Day, where the theme for 2026 is Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives.”

She went on to describe the importance of empowerment and for students to understand the choices they make every day. “You will decide whether you will aim for excellence or whether you will be content with mediocrity.”

Addressing the students, Alleyne urged them to remain focused despite criticism or challenges within the profession.

“What do you do with criticism? You don’t hide in a corner; you don’t hide from opposition. You stand up; you listen. You take whatever value there is from it and you determine, ‘This is not where I’m going to stay.’”

She also highlighted the improvement in BCC’s nursing examination results over the years, revealing that the college’s pass rate had climbed from 13 per cent in 2018 to “the 80s and the 90s”, outperforming the rest of the region in the regional nursing registration exam.

“And the Barbados Community College is outperforming the rest of the region when it comes to the pass rate for the regional exam for nursing registration.”

The scholarships formed part of the CIBC commitment to youth, education, health and wellness through its ComTrust Foundation, said Michelle Whitelaw, director of personal and business banking at CIBC Caribbean. 

“This is the first time that we have offered a scholarship to someone studying for the Nursing Assistant Certificate,” she said, gesturing to Jesseca Holder.

Whitelaw noted that 15 students have benefitted from the scholarship and that it represented “new territory, where we can assist a young person who is striving to attain qualification in a most worthy profession”.

Reflecting on the demands of nursing, she reminded the students that the profession required sacrifice and dedication.

“There will be times when you will doubt yourself and think, ‘Why did I do this?’ But there is always light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.

Whitelaw also encouraged the students to remember why they chose nursing in the first place, saying their work is a “calling” and that “you can’t work from home”.

“There is a reason that you wanted to be a nurse, there is a reason you felt that you can take care of sick people. Always remember that. When this studying is over, you will be able to look back and see how you overcame those challenges and they will make you the outstanding nurses you are all destined to be.”

Speaking on behalf of the recipients, Shaniqua Neblett said the scholarship carried special meaning because it marked the first time a nursing assistant student had been selected.

“This makes it even more significant as Nurse Ramona Mascoll herself was a nursing assistant, reminding us that every role within nursing is valuable and impactful,” she said.

Neblett added that the recipients were committed to “upholding the compassion, dedication, and standard of care that this award represents”.

 

(LE)