Valledupar, February 8, 2017
*The beneficiaries receive payment of 100% of their tuition and a living stipend for the duration of their degree.
A new group of young people, who stood out because of their academic excellence in high school, will fulfill their dreams of pursuing higher education.
This year 13 high school graduates from public schools in the departments of Cesar and Magdalena received the certificate recognizing them as Drummond scholarship recipients during ceremonies held on February 2 and 3 in the city of Santa Marta at the Hotel Santamar, and in the city of Valledupar at the Hotel Sicarare.
The President of Drummond Ltd. Colombia, José Miguel Linares, as well as company executives, the new beneficiaries, former scholarship recipients, parents, the Mayors of Drummond’s municipalities of influence, the Governors of Cesar and Magdalena, and the community at large, attended both ceremonies.
“Today is a very exciting for all of us who work at Drummond and for me. It’s not just the satisfaction of maintaining the legacy of our former President, Garry Drummond; it’s also the conviction that each of the company’s employees, through their different roles, are contributing to economic and social development,” said the President of Drummond Ltd. Colombia, José Miguel Linares.
The company’s President also stressed the importance of this program in contributing to the peace-building process. “We live in a time where consolidating peace in the country and the duty we have as citizens to contribute to the progress of Colombia are at a cross roads. One of the lessons I would like our scholarship winners to take away, is the importance of giving a hand to someone else, selflessly, with the sole purpose of helping others have a better future for themselves and for their families as well. Your commitment will be to include the excluded, to favor dialogue and compromise over conflict, to learn to live peacefully in spite of your differences and to continue to believe that it is worth it to be receive an education and to work for this country.”
“People who receive an education transform their own lives,” said the Mayor of Ciénaga, Edgardo Pérez Díaz, during the ceremony in Santa Marta, noting, “It is gratifying to see that a company that is driven by economics also has a heart that beats for this region. All I have to say right now is to reiterate the love I have for what is happening here. You can see in the faces of these young people, Ricardo, Ana and Emanuel, the future of this country; you can see their dreams fulfilled, the light of hope at the end of the road; that maybe sometimes we, skeptically, do not see; and Drummond has given that light to them and their families.”
In turn, the Governor, Rosa Cotes Vives, congratulated Drummond and encouraged the company to continue with the program in Magdalena as it has been conducting it so far. “I would like to congratulate Drummond for this excellent program that gives our young people with limited resources the opportunity to study, and congratulate the principals and teachers for the excellent academic results that these young people have achieved.”
For the last 12 years, the College Scholarship Program from Drummond’s La Loma and El Descanso projects has been encouraging more young people to continue their studies in higher education, strengthening their training and the development of its neighboring communities.
During the ceremony for scholarship recipients from Cesar, the Governor, Francisco Fernando Ovalle Angarita, said, “We congratulate Drummond for this initiative that it has been implementing not only for young people from Cesar but also in Ciénaga, its port town, that also provides this benefit to that vulnerable population and provides an opportunity for educational training. Once they complete their high school studies, a great opportunity is opened up to them, the desire, and the dream of being able to complete a professional degree.”
Through the program, excellent high school graduates have received 102 scholarships. The benefits have included 100% coverage of their tuition in the degree paths that they choose and a monthly living stipend while they are studying.
In this new round of awards, the beneficiary students from the department of Magdalena are:
Ricardo Andrés Montero Obispo, from the municipality of Ciénaga, Ana Marcela Castillo Algarín, Enmanuel David Ortega García, both from the municipality of Zona Bananera.
Additionally, in the department of Cesar the new beneficiaries are:
Leidys Margarita Valencia Bello from the municipality of Becerril, Daniela Carolina Cadena Simanca, Yanelith Carolina Daza Herrera and Carlos Daniel Zorrillo Mendoza, from Codazzi; Gueinis Patricia Guzmán Guardias, Abigaíl Muñoz Ayala, from Chiriguaná; and María Fernanda Bordeth Caballero, José Luis Pallares Amaya, Eva Sandrith Lara López, Elis Marcela Vásquez Mojica from the municipality of El Paso.
Another participant in the event was Yolanis Angulo, a beneficiary of the Drummond Scholarship Program and International Business student at the Universidad del Magdalena, who said, “This great company has decided to believe in us, the young people from the area of influence of its operations, giving us the opportunity to have a better future. Today I say loud and clear that Drummond is a good neighbor.”
Yolanis also invited the new scholarship recipients to take advantage of this opportunity to excel and reach their goals, showing her satisfaction at being a beneficiary of the program, “I am sure that with God’s help, the support of their families and Drummond, this is the beginning of a shower of blessings on their lives.”
Similarly, Cindy Mejía, who is also a beneficiary of the program and is currently completing an internship with the company, highlighted the commitment that the scholarship recipients are undertaking: “To the new scholarship recipients, my sincerest congratulations. I do not think it is going too far to say that winning this scholarship is not enough, you have to fight to keep it; discipline, consistency and a commitment to responsibility can make the difference in being successful. It is our duty as scholarship recipients and for everyone here today to meet the challenge to always give your best and forge a better country. By this, I mean that we need to tirelessly seek excellence in our daily lives.”
Drummond is proud to contribute to the professional training of the young people from its area of influence as a way to generate development and progress in the country through education.
