Aspiring artist gets a helping hand

The third-year student of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts is from St Thomas. She is studying visual communication. Harris set her sights on becoming, among other things, a master illustrator and entrepreneur. Now, when she graduates with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2012, she will be well on her way to achieving her dreams.

Harris' father, Alphonso, is a labourer and her mother a housewife. This made the provision of financial assistance quite challenging. She attended the River Coast Basic School, then the Seaford Primary School, and later the Seaford High School. As a student who applied herself, Harris overcame academic challenges, showed great potential and always respected authority.

After she graduated in 2007, she attended the Trinityville Skills Training Centre and studied office administration. Although it was not a popular career choice among young people in her community, she realised that her passion resided in art and she applied to the Edna Manley College. She was able to enrol after receiving a loan, but her first year was still plagued with financial constraints.

Numerous challenges

Second year presented its own set of challenges, including a robbery at gunpoint at her home. The exorbitant balance of tuition fees became increasingly prohibitive, and at the start of the 2010-2011 academic year she was unable to register for classes. In addition to her outstanding fees, Shaneka, also experienced transportation difficulties because of her daily travel between Kingston and St Thomas and inability to afford accommodation at the college hostel. Additional costs of art supplies and daily living expenses exacerbated her situation.

For Harris, the RBC 2011-2012 scholarship came at a time when she was on the verge of discontinuing her studies. By a unanimous vote from the scholarship committee, Harris was awarded full tuition and on-campus accommodation for the duration of her studies. RBTT Bank Jamaica Limited, now rebranded RBC Royal Bank, started this scholarship programme as part of its focus on the arts in 2006. Scholarships were awarded in the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 academic years.

The power of art

According to Annette Atkinson, manager, corporate communications and brand, RBC Royal Bank Jamaica, "RBC believes in the power of the arts to enrich our lives and enhance our communities. We are also keen on recognising artists at an early stage in their artistic career, who are dedicated to the professional practice of the art, as evidenced by a significant investment of time and resources."

The collaboration with the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, an institution that supports artists who are at an early stage in their careers, is therefore a natural fit with RBC's focus on supporting emerging artists, a global initiative that provides funding for projects in areas such as theatre, musical performance, writing, film-making, design and choreography in RBC jurisdictions around the world.

With this scholarship, Harris will move forward to realising her dreams. It is her intention to build a multifunctional arts centre which will house a printery, gallery, internet café and community centre.