Androsia Scholarships 2024

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Dennise Adderley and Maria Adams

IFS is dedicated to working alongside the local community on Andros and our larger global community. All programming is meant to pursue our mission of providing environmental education, scientific research, and cultural awareness through experiential learning. In addition to our programming, we aim to give back to the community and our students as much as possible to expand our impact and create equal opportunities for young scholars.

One of the main ways IFS gives back is through our Androsia Scholarship Fund. All profits from the local Androsia wares and IFS branded merchandise sold at Forfar Field Station go directly to the Androsia Scholarship Fund. In 2024 we gave a total of $3,000 in scholarship to local Androsian students.

Two $1,000 scholarships were awarded to two students attending Huntley Christie School, Dennise Adderley and Maria Adams. Two $500 scholarships were awarded to other local Androsian students. Below are their stories.

Kelly Riley

"Hello everyone! My name is Rakell Riley, although most know me as Kelly. I used to work at Forfar for 2 years until I began my Trained Clinical Nursing Program under the Public Hospitals Authority Academy on Sept. 18th 2023. It's an 18-month course that qualifies you to work as a practical nurse. My scope of practice includes almost that of an RN other than administering IV medications. While this program requires me to live in New Providence alone, I find comfort knowing that I'm doing something that makes me feel fulfilled as a human being. I'm currently rotating through Princess Margaret Hospital doing my first 2 seven-week internships. I'm set to complete my program in March of this year, after which I will sit my Bahamas Nursing Council Examination to acquire my nursing license. My hope is to relocate to Grand Bahama, Freeport to work at the Rand Memorial Hospital as that island environment is closer to the island life I'm used to. However, I'm feeling a motivation to go back to university to acquire my Bachelor of Science in Nursing and eventually become a midwife. Who knows what the future holds! I'm excited to face it. I am absolutely most appreciative that Forfar Field Station saw fit to invest in my future, and I thank each and every one of you. Thank You and God bless you all tenfold."

Rodneal Hanna

Our final $500 scholarship was awarded to Rodneal Hanna. She is attending the University of The Bahamas, majoring in Secondary History and Geography. She will be graduating in May of 2025 and hopes to apply to the Ministry of Education to become a History and Geography teacher on Andros while also applying for an online master’s program for education.

Lindsey Christ, Executive Director of IFS, Farewell Message

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After 9 seasons with IFS and Forfar Field Station, I am moving on from the organization.  It has been an honor to take over for Dr. Ben Bohl and help move the organization forward.  I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish during my time which includes upgrading all the electrical wiring on the field station, adding a septic tank, remodeling all the guest cabins, replacing the vehicles and boat engines, and purchasing a new boat.

In the Bahamas, we established Forfar Field Station as a nonprofit, strengthened our relationships and partnerships with BAMSI, BNT, & the Reef Rescue Network, and continued to work within our local settlements on Andros as a valued member of the community.  In the office, we created a website, social media presence, digitized all the files and forms and refreshed the logo.  Each year, we had balanced budgets and created a financial safety net that allowed us to weather the literal storms such as Hurricane Matthew and the figurative storm of COVID-19 which shut down the operations for over 6 months and impacted our programs for nearly 2 years.

 We worked tirelessly to improve processes and safety at the field station and significantly increased the pay of the local and educational staff.  As a former student in 1996 and 1998, it was a dream job to become the 2nd Executive Director of International Field Studies, Inc.  I will miss my staff at the field station and in the office who have come to be known to me as family.  I will value the relationships I have fostered on Andros with businesses, organizations, and individuals.  Thank you for a great run and wish nothing but the best for IFS for the future!

I am also proud to introduce my replacement, Mike England.  As a former intern and Station Director, Mike comes back to IFS with a true passion and love for the organization and the people who make the organization run.  I have spent the last few months working with Mike to get him up to speed and I feel good about leaving the organization in his hands with the direction of our Board of Trustees.  The future for IFS remains bright!

Lindsey Christ
Executive Director (Nov ‘15-July ‘24)

 

Tour of Nassau Historical Sites

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IFS is proud to announce that we are now offering historical tours of Nassau/New Providence in partnership with Woodside Transportation. 

This trip is a great option for groups that have a late departure time from the Nassau airport on their way back to the US. The scheduled flights for your group from Andros to Nassau will arrive in Nassau around 8am or 9 am. If your departure flight to the US will be leaving after 2 pm, the Nassau tour will work well for your group and will provide ample time for the tour. We suggest that groups check-in for their international departure flight and check their bags with the airline before departing for the tour. The average length of this tour is between 3 and 4 hours long. 

The tour is quoted at a group rate. The price must be paid in cash to the tour director on the day of the tour. Payment does not go through IFS. Please contact our office for pricing details and help with scheduling this tour. The tour focuses on visiting a number of historical sites throughout New Providence and includes a stop for lunch (not included in tour price typically $15-$25 per person). The bus used for the tour has a capacity of 29 passengers and is driven by a licensed and insured professional driver. The driver will also act as your tour guide and will provide detailed information about each site you visit and many others that you will see while driving. They are very knowledgeable and are happy to answer any questions you may have. See below for additional details about the tour. 

To start the tour, your group will be picked up directly from the US Departures terminal at the Nassau airport.

  • The first stop of the tour is at the New Providence caves. This site is a long cave system with closed passage and there are usually many fruit bats flying around throughout the site. Your group will take around 15 minutes to explore the caves and your tour guide will provide detailed historical information.

  • Your next stop will be at Fort Charlotte. Built in 1788, at 100 acres in size, this is the largest fort on New Providence. Your group will have the option to view the fort from the perimeter or pay a small $2 fee to gain access to the Fort and explore the site on foot.

  • The next stop is at Fort Fincastle and the Queen's Staircase. This site can be viewed from the perimeter while still on the bus, or your group can pay an additional $5 fee to gain access to the Fort and explore the site on foot.

  • After visiting Fort Fincastle the next stop of the tour is at Fort Montagu. This site is the oldest fort still standing on New Providence and was built in 1741! Your group will exit the tour bus and spend around 15 minutes exploring the site on foot.

  • The next stop of the tour is lunch at Arawak Cay. The menu options include a meal with either chicken or fish fingers with fries or a hearty salad with fries. This stop typically takes place around 12:15 or 12:30 PM and your group will have reserved seating and access to onsite bathrooms. If you're interested in other dining options, please contact the office to see what's available.

  • When your group is finished with lunch, you will head back to the airport to check-in for your flight. The tour guide will plan to get you back to the airport around 2 hours before your flight departure.

The typical drive time for the tour is around 1 hr and 15 minutes total with a maximum of 2 hours if traffic is very bad. 

There is no required paperwork for you or the students to complete. If you decide to book the tour, they will have a driver in the area around 8 am and they will be ready to pick you up from the airport with just a few minutes notice.

If you're interested in receiving more details or would like to move forward with booking the tour, please contact the office. 

Androsia Scholarships 2023

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IFS is dedicated to working alongside the local community on Andros and our larger global community. All programming is meant to pursue our mission of providing environmental education, scientific research, and cultural awareness through experiential learning. In addition to our programming, we aim to give back to the community and our students as much as possible to expand our impact and create equal opportunities for young scholars.

One of the main ways IFS gives back is through our Androsia Scholarship Fund. All profits from the local Androsia wares and IFS branded merchandise sold at Forfar Field Station go directly to the Androsia Scholarship Fund. In 2023, two $1,000 scholarships were awarded to two local Androsians.

The first $1,000 scholarship was given to Lavon Butler. He was the class Salutatorian and recent graduate of Huntley Christie High School. Here is his statement sharing his story and speaking directly to donors:

lavon butlet

“My name is Lavon Butler. I am a 16-year-old graduate of the class of 2023 of the Huntley Christie High School and Class of 2023 Salutatorian. I intend to enroll at Talladega College in Alabama this fall semester. While there, I will study and obtain a Bachelor's degree in Computer and Information Systems.After obtaining this degree I intend to become a software engineer where I can increase efficiency or manage networks or databases. As the digital world grows the need for computer scientists continues to grow. I also intend to bring my talents back to The Bahamas. I hope that I can make an impact toward the development and modernization of my country.” - Lavon Butler

The second $1,000 scholarship was given to Calvernique Marshall who is also a recent graduate of Huntley Christie High School and planning to become a meteorologist.

“My name is Calvernique Marshall, a recent graduate student of the Huntley Christie High School where I served as a senior prefect and placed fourth overall in the class of 2023. I am striving to become a meteorologist, and have taken various steps to achieve that goal. Currently, I am enrolled in the newly formed Meteorology Cadet Program and that has given me the necessary knowledge I need for my career. I wish to attend college/university in order to obtain my degree in science. After that chapter, I hope to return to The Bahamas and seek to become the first top female meteorologist in the country. I am committed to my goals, and expect great things from myself.” - Calvernique Marshall

Calvernique Marshall

Our Ben Bohl Scholarships

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Here at IFS we are committed to increasing accessibility to marine science education for local Bahamians and US students. To see this committment through, we created the Dr. Walter ‘Ben’ Bohl Scholarship fund which directly supports both local and international students ability to attend field study experiences at Forfar Field Station. The scholarship was established to honor the many years Ben spent working for International Field Studies as the co-founder and Executive Director of IFS from 1970-2015.

Since 2020, we have been able to award $22,210 in scholarship funds and discounts to 24 students who otherwise would not have had access to our programs. Offering these students the life changing experience of spending a week at Forfar with their school or attending our Forfar Marine Science Gap Year Program is possible because of the generous support of our donors.

Highlights from our Scholarship Recipients

“Before the FMSP, I'd never been away from my family for more than 4 days. Now, I can't possibly imagine a world where I didn't go to Forfar -- I have to say it's one of the best experiences of my life to date.”

“My experiences at Forfar opened my eyes to what’s going on in our oceans and our environments . Learning and interacting with nature made me want to take saving the planet more seriously .”

“I want to thank you and the donors for granting me the scholarship money so that I could join in on this amazing and once in a lifetime experience. I had a wonderful time and was able to use what I learned during the lecture times in my competition piece (about ocean pollution) for school. I will forever hold the memories and the friendships that I made on this trip. Thank you again for helping me go on this trip!”

“During my six weeks I was able to gain more hands-on experience and knowledge about marine life, conservation and ecotourism. Being a marine student this experience will totally benefit me in the future. I am more than grateful that I was able to participate in this program!!”

“I worked 25+ hours a week all spring semester, so I cannot emphasize enough how much this scholarship meant to me and my family. In addition to that, my 6 weeks at Forfar were nothing short of amazing. Long term, I would like to work in marine animal rehabilitation and conservation education, so the FMSP gave me more insight into marine science that'll benefit my career, all while exploring both the land and water of Andros.”

A Sad Goodbye

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The community of Blanket Sound on Andros recently lost two iconic women, Mrs. Margaret Princess Rolle Riley and Mrs. Merle Colebrook Conyers.

Mrs. Riley worked at Forfar for many years. After she retired, her children (Youterpy, Ricardo, Cordell, and Franklin) continued to work at Forfar and became an integral part of our Forfar family. Even her grandchildren have worked at Forfar including Kara, Randal, and Kelly. She raised amazing humans and we are profoundly saddened by the loss of her. May she rest in peace and those that held her dear find solace.

Mrs. Conyers worked many years at Forfar and her impact on the community and those that loved her will be felt and treasured for years to come. Many of you may have visited their family's shops down the road when getting ice cream or picking up sundries.

We grieve with the family and friends that miss them. To learn more about their lives you can follow the links to their obituaries.

Mrs. Riley’s Obituary

Mrs. Conyer’s Obituary

Mrs. Riley

Mrs. Conyers