Competition for the Saint Lucia Cruise Port (SLCP) scholarship programme has more than doubled in its second year, with 93 young Saint Lucians applying for two full undergraduate scholarships aimed at supporting the development of future talent.
The successful applicants were announced in a prize-giving ceremony at the SLCP headquarters in Castries on Friday, August 7, 2026.
Savory, who will pursue a bachelor’s degree in arts administration with a minor in marketing at Bishop’s University in Quebec, Canada, said her studies will allow her to build on her understanding of the creative sector while developing the financial and organizational skills needed to help advance the industry.
“While I have been able to work as a playwright and I’ve been able to be on the stage, I’ve really learned that what this country needs is somebody who is, as I said, able to understand both the stage and the spreadsheets,” Savory said.
She argued that the development of Saint Lucia’s arts sector requires people who can combine creative expertise with an understanding of funding and administration.
“We need people who are able to gather the funds that are needed to develop our art sector,” she said.
Savory said this could involve securing grants to support training and strengthening the infrastructure available to artists.
“Again, whether that be through acquiring grants for training or it be through continuing to develop the physical spaces that we have.”
Meanwhile, fellow scholarship recipient Rhea Barrett will return to Florida State University to begin her second year, where she is pursuing a degree in molecular neuroscience.
Barrett said her academic and professional experiences across several fields had reinforced her belief that Saint Lucia needs greater innovation in science.
“So I’ve been through quite a few fields where all of this has just emphasized my understanding of the need Saint Lucia has for innovation in the scientific sector,” Barrett said.
She expressed hope that her studies would position her to contribute to that development.
“I really hope to be just a part in driving that change forward.”
The scholarship programme’s growing popularity has also prompted SLCP to strengthen its application and selection procedures.
General Manager Lancelot Arnold said the organization had introduced additional safeguards to ensure that the process remained transparent and credible as the number of applicants increased.
“We also took additional steps to strengthen our application and selection process to ensure transparency, preserve applicant anonymity, and ensure integrity of the selection process,” Arnold said.
SLCP developed an online platform specifically for the programme to receive and manage applications and assist with the initial screening process.
“SLCP in-house developed and implemented a dedicated online application solution to receive and manage all submissions and to facilitate the initial shortlisting process with the assistance of AI,” Arnold explained.
Following the initial screening, shortlisted candidates were assessed through a blind review.
“Following the first round of screening, a scholarship committee was convened to conduct a blind review of shortlisted candidates,” Arnold said.
The increased number of applications highlights the growing demand among young Saint Lucians for opportunities to pursue tertiary education overseas. For SLCP, the programme is intended not only to support individual academic ambitions, but also to help develop a pool of skilled professionals capable of contributing to national development.
Savory and Barrett now join the first cohort of scholarship recipients as SLCP continues to expand an initiative designed to invest in Saint Lucia’s human capital.