Yohan Lee, 27, of Jamaica is among 15 students chosen from a field of 500 around the world to receive the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship. The scholarship is designed to enhance the quality of higher education in Europe and to promote dialog and understanding between people of different cultures via cooperation with countries in the Third World. Lee is a recent graduate of the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) at the University of the West Indies, Mona. Lee plans to pursue studies leading to a Master’s degree in journalism, media and globalization. This program has been offered since 2005 under the scholarship plan of the European Union. In September 2017, Lee will begin a two-year course taught through a collaboration between Aarhus University in Denmark and the University of Hamburg in Germany. Lee had applied for the scholarship during his last semester at CARIMAC, but was not selected at that time. He was accepted into the Master’s program, and the administrators encouraged him to accept a self-funded option, but he couldn’t afford to pay for it on his own. His mother helped him with his undergraduate studies, but he knew he had to find additional assistance if he wanted to attend an institution outside of Jamaica. To reach his goal, Less worked hard and found scholarship opportunities, including the Arnold Foote Foundation and the Daphne Plummer scholarships. In addition to these merit-based scholarships, he received help from his mother’s employer, Chung’s Catering Services. Lee then reapplied for the Erasmus Mundus scholarship and was selected. He is now looking forward to beginning “a new chapter” of his life. CEO Melody Cammock-Gayle of Maverick Communications, the company at which Lee is employed as a communications officer, said the firm is very happy and excited for him, wishes him all the best, and believes he has a  very bright future.

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