President Dr Irfaan Ali on Friday promised to support Sherlock Junior Langevine’s dream of attending Stanford University in the United States by offsetting additional expenses of the scholarship awardee.
Last weekend, INews and its sister company Guyana Times published a feature with Langevine in which he appealed for assistance to cover his expenses at his dream university.
The 19-year-old 2019-2020 Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) topper, who secured 11 ones and 7 twos 2019-2020, was hoping he would be placed among the top two students in the country so that he can secure the full-ride Presidential Scholarship to a college of his dreams.
Guyana’s fourth-best performer at the 2019-2020 CAPE was accepted into Stanford University on a US$324,000 scholarship, but there is a financial gap that needs to be filled before he can commence his studies.
The scholarship for the 19-year-old St Stanislaus College alumnus covers 95% of the cost of his attendance at the university.
Earlier this week, through public support after the article was published, Langevine raised additional funds to offset some of his expenses.
PROUD OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS
During Friday’s meeting, President Ali congratulated the teenager on his accomplishments and promised to support his academic goals at the US University.
“Congratulations on your accomplishments. We wish you well, and we are proud not only about your accomplishments but proud about your vision and commitment to your future development. We have learnt about the gap, and we want to ensure you have the resources to complete your studies… We want to support you in this,” the Head of State told the young man.
Following a brief interaction with President Ali, Langevine, who hails from Victoria on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), expressed gratitude to the Head of State for his commitment and generosity.
“He is actually quite nice… it was very generous (of the President), and I know he is more or less going to stick to his word. I am very excited that I will be able to afford my undergrad education,” the teenager stated.
He further explained that for him, it is a dream come true to be able to attend the prestigious Stanford University and he also took the opportunity to say how gracious the university has been with its financial aid.
Minister of Public Service, the Honourable Sonia Parag and the Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, the Honourable Susan Rodrigues were also at State House for the visit.
