17 Belize City Students are Proud Pathlight Scholarship Recipients
Some of Belize’s brightest young minds are getting a powerful boost to their futures. Today, Pathlight Belize, a non profit dedicated to expanding access to education, awarded seventeen scholarships to students entering secondary school in Belize City. The annual initiative is meant to provide more to the students than just tuition, through its Sponsorship Plus Program, Pathlight pairs financial aid with mentorship, equipping high potential students with the skills they need to thrive in school and in their careers. News Five’s Britney Gordon has the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Seventeen Belize City students are stepping into a brighter future tonight, thanks to a program designed to do more than just help them get by. The Pathlight Scholarship Plus Program for 2026 is built to help them succeed by opening doors, offering not only financial support but also mentorship and guidance to keep these young scholars on track. Program Manager Christina Escalante says Pathlight’s mission goes deeper, grounded in faith and focused on transforming lives.
Christina Escalante
Christina Escalante, Program Manager, Pathlight Belize
“What makes this scholarship different is our upper room service that we provide and that opportunity to have that deep relationship with God, that’s spiritual growth and development with our students, so that makes it different. The component when it comes to our leadership program, we try our best to provide these opportunities where students can get these experiences, all these hands-on experiences where they’re interacting in different spaces and develop themselves, especially with the soft skills, those communication skills, conflict management skills, public speaking skills, skills that you don’t necessarily get consistently in different youth programs.”
Pathlight Belize has been opening doors for students across the country for nearly two decades. At this year’s award ceremony, seventeen Belize City students entering their first year of secondary school received scholarships with forty-two awarded countrywide. Twelve-year-old Christy Ingleton will be attending Saint Catherine Academy and aspires to become a doctor and is grateful this scholarship will relieve some of the financial burden for the long academic journey ahead of her.
Christy Ingleton
Christy Ingleton, Scholarship Recipient
“I’m very excited because this could really help me a lot. I get help from my new mentors. I get to make new friends and I get to be financially relieved.”
Similarly, twelve-year-old Kareem Gabourel dreams of becoming a pediatrician. This year, he begins his Pathlight journey at Edward P. York High School.
Kareem Gabourel
Kareem Gabourel, Scholarship Recipient
“It can help me achieve the goal of being a pediatrician because it puts me through high school and the money used to spend on high school can be used to spend on college and that gives me the opportunity to go to medical school.”
Fourteen-year-old Sameeyah Lamb is moving on to her third year with Pathlight at the Itz’at STEAM Academy. She shared how her experience with Pathlight has been so far.
Sameeyah Lamb
Sameeyah Lamb, Scholarship Recipient
“So far it’s been amazing. I love the people here, love my mentor, obviously. It’s been a great journey for me academically and also with them helping me out through tough times. It’s really amazing to have people that is helping me and counting on me during my performances.”
The team at Pathlight explains that this leadership program focuses on giving students hands‑on experiences to build necessary social skills with the goal is to keep students engaged through mentorship, parent involvement, and teacher training, ultimately preparing them to become future community leaders. Britney Gordon for News Five.
Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.