Inside UB: Making Higher Education Accessible

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NASSAU , BAHAMAS –

Antona Curry – Director, Financial Aid And Scholarships, UB
“Most parents cannot afford a computer. Most parents cannot afford to buy a knife kit. So, with private donors, we use that funding to further assist students in getting the required supplies and books that they need. And our donors are fantastic.”

That’s the reality many parents face when trying to send their children to college — finding a way to cover even the basics.

It’s a challenge University of The Bahamas Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships, Antona Curry, knows all too well.

But Curry says government grants have helped change that reality, expanding access to higher education and opening doors for thousands of Bahamian students.

Antona Curry – Director, Financial Aid And Scholarships, UB
“Over the last six, seven years, that has changed the landscape of education in The Bahamas tremendously. We have over 70% of the students who would have gone on the Bahamas Government Tertiary Grant graduated from the university and gone on to other professions, or to do their masters. So, the Bahamas Government Tertiary Grant has truly been a gift to the Bahamian people.”

For Curry, that means going the extra mile to find resources, leaving no student behind.

That commitment is reflected in the experience of Miss University of The Bahamas 2026, Rikittra Prosper.

She says scholarship support has allowed her to focus on her academics while also serving as a student leader and ambassador, without the weight of financial stress.

Rikittra Prosper – Honors Scholar, UB
“Instead of working and going to school, I’m allowed to completely focus on school and focus on my education, especially studying math. I’m able to study more, stay on the dean’s list as opposed to working as well as studying because of the scholarship grant.”

Meanwhile, Geno Knowles’ journey from UB North in Grand Bahama to the Oakes Field campus is another example of the power of access.

Supported by a private award and the government’s accommodation grant, Knowles has gone on to become a Haddad Family President’s Scholar, peer tutor, and student leader with the National Society of Leadership and Success.

Geno Knowles – Haddad Family President’s Scholar, UB
“I was very, very, very concerned with how my financial aid situation has been going. I have not had to deal with any sort of burdens that would have been something that I heard from a lot of students, but they can access something, or they have to defer their payments a lot of the times, and they feel very, very fortunate for the opportunity, and I would hope that a lot of other students would get access to something like that, as well.”