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A 21-year-old Bahamian will go down in history as the first person ever to lead the graduation procession at Duke University bearing the university's official seal. But it won't just be the Ivy League school's history Peter Blair will help write. The Nassau native, selected as the most promising student in The Bahamas and awarded the All Bahamas Merit Scholarship in 2002, is the first All Bahamas Merit Scholar to walk away from the hallowed halls of one top university with two degrees under his arm to step into the inner sanctum of Harvard University, embarking on a path to a Ph.D.
Blair's transition from high achiever at Nassau's St. Andrew's High School to promising scholar to what Lyford Cay Foundation Director of Educational Programmes Roger Kelty calls "a living example of pure intellectual brilliance" was funded by the public-private sector $100,000 All Bahamas Merit Scholarship.
His is the kind of story of academic and intellectual success that reaffirms the worth of the nation's most valuable scholarship, says its underwriters, worth in his days up to $25,000 a year and increasing next year to $35,000 a year. Funded jointly by the Lyford Cay Foundation, the Ministry of Education and The Central Bank, the scholarship is aimed at investing in the future of the single most promising student to leave high school and prepare to enter college, someone whose education could make a difference in the future well-being or development of the country.
Blair, says Kelty, is that kind of student, a candidate whose "sheer intellectual brilliance and outstanding mind set him apart."
The drive that led him to earn two Bachelor of Science degrees, one in Physics, the other in Mathematics, with a minor in Economics, by the time he was 21, made Duke stand up and take notice of the Bahamian with the mental prowess of an intellectual athlete.
He was personally selected by the dean of his college to lead the graduating procession as the flag bearer of the University Seal in May, the first time the University Seal was part of the ceremony.
"At this time, I want to say a special thanks to the Lyford Cay Foundation, the Ministry of Education and The Central Bank for believing in my educational vision," Blair wrote in a thank you note to the Foundation, confessing he would not have been able to attend without a scholarship. "The financial support and encouraging words have allowed me to represent my country to the fullest of my abilities."
"Many outstanding young minds are nurtured in our schools, and the Lyford Cay Foundation and other contributors to the programme have seen over and over again the value of such significant financial assistance," said Mr Kelty. "The scholarship winners never cease to impress us, and we at the Foundation remain grateful for the partnership with the Ministry of Education and The Central Bank."
Ministry of Education's Reginald Saunders attended the graduation ceremony on behalf of Minister of Education Alfred Sears who has taken a personal interest in the bright scholar.
"I watched as Peter Blair led the class of nearly 400, the first in the procession, the young man from The Bahamas who attended high school on a scholarship before going to The College of The Bahamas and then on to Duke, and now accepted by Harvard," said Saunders. "Peter's selection as the bearer of the Duke University Seal is a tremendous honour for both Blair and The Bahamas, and being there in person to witness it was something I would not have wanted to miss."
Since 1993, the All Bahamas Merit Scholarship has been awarded 11 times to the male or female a tough independent screening committee selects as the single most promising student in the country following a grueling application and interviewing process.
Blair's transition from high achiever at Nassau's St. Andrew's High School to promising scholar to what Lyford Cay Foundation Director of Educational Programmes Roger Kelty calls "a living example of pure intellectual brilliance" was funded by the public-private sector $100,000 All Bahamas Merit Scholarship.
His is the kind of story of academic and intellectual success that reaffirms the worth of the nation's most valuable scholarship, says its underwriters, worth in his days up to $25,000 a year and increasing next year to $35,000 a year. Funded jointly by the Lyford Cay Foundation, the Ministry of Education and The Central Bank, the scholarship is aimed at investing in the future of the single most promising student to leave high school and prepare to enter college, someone whose education could make a difference in the future well-being or development of the country.
Blair, says Kelty, is that kind of student, a candidate whose "sheer intellectual brilliance and outstanding mind set him apart."
The drive that led him to earn two Bachelor of Science degrees, one in Physics, the other in Mathematics, with a minor in Economics, by the time he was 21, made Duke stand up and take notice of the Bahamian with the mental prowess of an intellectual athlete.
He was personally selected by the dean of his college to lead the graduating procession as the flag bearer of the University Seal in May, the first time the University Seal was part of the ceremony.
"At this time, I want to say a special thanks to the Lyford Cay Foundation, the Ministry of Education and The Central Bank for believing in my educational vision," Blair wrote in a thank you note to the Foundation, confessing he would not have been able to attend without a scholarship. "The financial support and encouraging words have allowed me to represent my country to the fullest of my abilities."
"Many outstanding young minds are nurtured in our schools, and the Lyford Cay Foundation and other contributors to the programme have seen over and over again the value of such significant financial assistance," said Mr Kelty. "The scholarship winners never cease to impress us, and we at the Foundation remain grateful for the partnership with the Ministry of Education and The Central Bank."
Ministry of Education's Reginald Saunders attended the graduation ceremony on behalf of Minister of Education Alfred Sears who has taken a personal interest in the bright scholar.
"I watched as Peter Blair led the class of nearly 400, the first in the procession, the young man from The Bahamas who attended high school on a scholarship before going to The College of The Bahamas and then on to Duke, and now accepted by Harvard," said Saunders. "Peter's selection as the bearer of the Duke University Seal is a tremendous honour for both Blair and The Bahamas, and being there in person to witness it was something I would not have wanted to miss."
Since 1993, the All Bahamas Merit Scholarship has been awarded 11 times to the male or female a tough independent screening committee selects as the single most promising student in the country following a grueling application and interviewing process.