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Bloomsbury Institute / Goodenough College Scholarship for Paraguay Announced

Monday 6 June saw the announcement of the the recipient of the inaugural Bloomsbury Institute / Goodenough College Scholarship for Paraguay. Despite the transport strike, from 6pm the institute’s ballroom on Bedford Square filled with supporters of the scholarship to hear the result.

Director of Community Engagement and Learning Cal Courtney described just how difficult it had been to select the recipient given the calibre of all the candidates. “We were deeply humbled by the academic and personal strengths of these four shortlisted candidates. Since we started to develop our postgraduate business programmes, we have insisted that the voices of those often excluded from economic decision-making be brought into the centre of the business and enterprise education we provide. The transformations we want to see in global patterns of business and commerce are based on human dignity, environmental sustainability and fairness for all. This is what the education we offer here is focused on. Any of the four candidates would have made a remarkable contribution to that education.”

The decision was made to grant the scholarship to Abrahan Burgos Ayala who will commence his study on the Institute’s MBA programme in October.

Founder of the Santa Maria Education Fund Margaret Hebblethwaite (pictured) thanked Bloomsbury Institute and Goodenough College for their generosity in putting the scholarship together. She described the poverty and lack of opportunities in rural Paraguay and paid tribute to the students and volunteers in Santa María de Fe for their resilience, hard work and vision. “We hope this is the start of an ongoing partnership by which all of us are enriched. The vision and hard work are there. What we need are the partnerships and supports to make change happen.”

Alice Walpole, Director of Goodenough College, spoke of her pride in the diverse learning community which she leads. As an international hall of residence, Goodenough College welcomes students from every corner of the earth who come to London to engage in the pursuit of academic excellence. “The warmth and welcome awaiting Abrahan will help him in his studies and we look forward to the contribution he will make to our community, to the learning community here at Bloomsbury Institute and to the community that formed him in Paraguay.”

Bringing proceedings to a close, Bloomsbury Institute’s MD and Academic Principal John Fairhurst expressed his thanks to Goodenough College for their help in bringing this scholarship to fruition. “One of our values here is ‘make things happen’ and the drive and generosity of Alice Walpole and her colleagues at Goodenough College has helped us to make this scholarship come about. It is a wonderful example of two neighbours working together to deliver for talented people who need opportunities. We know the work the charity led by Margaret [Hebblethwaite] has been doing. They are amazing and the work they do is transformative. As Cal said, we cannot build a sustainable economy for the future without the voices of those who have been excluded. Talent and hard work should be enough, not where you’re from or what your parents do. We had four excellent candidates for this scholarship. Three of them didn’t receive it. We are willing to cover their tuition fees in full if we can find people to cover their accommodation and board. There’s the challenge. Let’s rise and meet it. Let’s make this happen.”