Scholarship for the advancement of international education
View(s):Pabasha Nanayakkara of the Overseas School of Colombo has been offered the prestigious Margaret Sanders Scholarship Award by the Association for the Advancement of International Education (AAIE). This scholarship award is granted to only four students worldwide, one from each region covering Africa, South & Central America, Near East & South Asia and East Asia. According to the conditions laid down the recipient of the scholarship should demonstrate persistence and motivation, resourcefulness and acceptance of other cultures and points of view. Further, the student should also display a genuine interest and commitment to the welfare of others, demonstrate leadership and service contributions towards community and social needs, and obtain high academic achievement having higher education aspirations that will impact future improvements within local and global communities.
Pabasha had five years of her early education in Bangladesh. Having returned to Sri Lanka, she excelled in her studies and completed the International General Certificates of Secondary Education (IGCSE) as a student of the British School. She achieved the highest average score across the IGCSE subjects in Sri Lanka in that year (2017). She also received ‘Top in Sri Lanka’ awards for English Language, English Literature, French and Chemistry at this examination. Thereafter, she was awarded a scholarship to follow the International Baccalaureate programme at the Overseas School of Colombo.
The International Baccalaureate course requires students to follow three subjects at higher level and three other subjects at standard level. Pabasha has challenged herself in following four subjects at higher level and she has shown her capabilities in performing strongly in all her subjects. She has not confined herself to academic excellence but also taken part in a wide and varied extra-curricular activities programme. She is the co-leader of a service project called ‘Girls for girls’ where young female survivors of abuse are offered help and support. She is also a member of the COMUN and she is a Badminton player, having represented the school in Inter Schools Competition in the South Asian Region. She is also a regular contributor to a special column organised for teenagers in a local newspaper covering subjects such as education, culture and arts.
As part of the application process for this scholarship award, Pabasha was asked to define the meaning of international education and global citizenship and how she has contributed to these. A part of her response read as follows: “To me, an international education symbolizes the merging of different mindsets and nationalities to inculcate an atmosphere of growth and acceptance. Above all, a truly international education should encourage qualities of global awareness, tolerance, and the annihilation of rigid stereotypes. This type of education should encourage the movement of diverse individuals towards common ground, an area of mutual understanding and respect for one another. I value my inherent ability to derive strength from diversity and navigate difference. It is what my international education has taught me. As a global citizen, I am someone who is ready to accept a dual-identity, multifaceted and complex, but united in the face of difference. A global citizen does not have to be well travelled, or ethnically diverse, but has to exercise qualities of tolerance and international mindedness, has to thrive in diversity, has to bring new and unique experiences to the table, has to embody the values of an international education. My acceptance of my diverse and multifaceted identity allows me to contribute to the international education offered at my school. I am proud to embody change and resilience and am not afraid to think outside the box and ask the unconventional questions that enrich the value of this type of education. As much as my classmates have learned from me, I have learned from them too, and this is what I value the most about attending an international school. I do not just meet individuals from different countries, but I meet individuals with completely different sets of experiences, enormously different outlooks, and refreshingly different approaches to their academic and social life. An international education does not create global citizens, but nurtures global citizenship.”
The award was presented to her at a secondary school assembly of the Overseas School of Colombo, by the Principal Clair McQuillan and Counsellor Andrea Fleming where she received a standing ovation from all students and teachers. As Lou Holtz quoted “Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it”.
R.N.A. de Silva
ndesilva@osc.lk