SIMPSON BAY, Princess Juliana International Airport, St. Maarten – Cheers, tears, hugs and lots of group photos were the scene at the Princess Juliana International Airport over the weekend, as some 26 Students left here for the Netherlands Sunday afternoon.
The group comprises of 19 female and 7 male students. Accompanied by two representatives of Division Study Financing, namely the Senior Study Financing Officer, Lisa Carter and the Study Financing Officer for Europe, Shanee Hodge, the first batch of students to leave the island will be furthering their education in various disciplines.
They will be pursuing an education in the areas that have been identified and set as the priority study financing list for St. Maarten. Those include law, tourism and hospitality, medical and marketing and communication, amongst others. In preparation to better prepare the students for the Netherlands, Division Study Financing held a preparatory workshop week, at which time, students went through a series of workshops, which was specifically geared toward familiarizing them with among other crucial things, the culture, studies in the Netherlands as well as the do’s and don’ts and the laws.
Upon their arrival in the Netherlands, the students will be met by among other persons, a team of the island’s guidance councilors in the Netherlands, staff members of the cabinet of the Minister Plenipotentiary, family and friends. Prior to their embarkation onboard a KLM flight at around 4 pm on Sunday, the young adults had some words of encouragement from the Minister with the responsibility for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, the Honorable Wycliffe Smith.
“We are very proud of you and we are happy that you have come this far. This is yet the beginning, because when you go to the Netherlands, you are going to start a new life, new studies and we are expecting you to do your best,” Minister Smith said, adding that we expect you to make St. Maarten and your parents proud.
Whilst addressing the group of students, the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport also encourage the students to return home upon completion of their higher education.
He remarked: “We expect you to come back to St. Maarten so that you can contribute to the development of our beautiful country.”
Meanwhile, the 26 students who left here for the Netherlands around 4 pm on Sunday onboard a KLM flight arrived safely in Holland Monday morning.
Upon their arrival at the Schiphol International Airport at approximately 10:40 Holland time, the group of 19 female and 7 male students was met by the Minister of Plenipotentiary in The Hague, the Honorable Jorien Wuite.
Speaking to our news department, Minister Wuite told us that the Ministry is doing all that it can to safeguard the wellbeing of the students.
On Monday night, a welcome reception was hosted for the students by the Ministry Plenipotentiary in The Hague.
