TAP’s scholarships find study and sport balance

The motto is serving her well, partly due to TAP Group’s Namjai Thai Asia Scholarship programme which kicked off six years ago when she attended Mathayom 1. Throughout the six years, Nuey maintained her GPA above 3.0 in each semester, allowing her to receive her Namjai Thai Asia Scholarship for the sixth consecutive year.
When she was 13, she also discovered wrestling and her goal was to play this sport well enough to help cover some of the expenses her family faced and for the cost of her education.
Her family struggles to make ends meet and her parents are farmers who do not own the land on which they work. However, her poor family background cannot keep Nuey from pursuing her goal of obtaining an education. For excellence in the sport, she started waking up at 5am to train before school. After school, she trained again from 4pm to 8pm for two straight years. Eventually, her perseverance paid off as she won her first medal.
Through the scholarship, she could pursue her dreams in education and sport. And sport helped her to focus on her studies, which she has done since she was in primary school.
“The more seriously I take sport, the better I do in school. For me, education is very important. Athletes can quit at any time for a number of reasons, but education and knowledge remain forever. Because of this, I decided to find a balance between school and sport. At the end of the day, I feel very thankful to TAP Group for their continuous support of my education and helping me to fulfill my dream of becoming a teacher.”
After finishing Mathayom 6 level at Wat Plaiklongkoonsri School, she is reading for a bachelor’s degree in education at the Institute of Physical Education, Chiang Mai.
Sitthichok Norachin, a 15-year-old student, is following his dream of becoming an engineer.
“All throughout school, my parents encouraged taking education seriously and supported me to pursue higher education. They inspired me to follow my dreams. After I complete high school, I aim to pursue a master’s degree in engineering. The Namjai Thai Asia Scholarship programme helps me to continue my education by easing my financial burden. At the end of the day, this puts my mind at ease and encourages me to always do my best in school.”
The scholarship scheme has run for six years. This year, to mark TAP‘s 21st anniversary,the Group offered 84 scholarships to students in Saiyai and Radniyom sub-districts of Nonthaburi. Since 2011, the group has extended a total of 376 scholarships.
Warunee Banjong, an English teacher and guidance counsellor at Radniyom School, said, “Most people living in Saiyai and Radniyom sub-districts are farmers or only work part-time, and have modest incomes. Many families cannot afford to pay for their children’s’ college education. Obviously, this scholarship programme can help to make kids’ dreams of a higher education a reality.”
The scholarships target students who excel academically and demonstrate outstanding behaviour.
“Everyone at TAP Group is very grateful to Thailand for the success we have achieved over the last 21 years and we are happy and proud to give back to Thai society through our CSR activities, including the Namjai Thai Asia Scholarship programme. It is our belief that by supporting education in this manner, we are helping to benefit society, the economy, and the country’s continued development and prosperity over the long-term.
Benefitting from TAP’s scholarships, these young students now have opportunities to broaden their horizons and they will do their communities and their country proud in the future,” concluded Larry Lee Chio Lim, managing director of TAP Group.