Theo Wolffe from Warwick Academy earned the top scholarship at the 15th Annual Alpha Beautillion awards which took place on Sunday at the Ruth Seaton James Auditorium.

The scholarship, sponsored by Digicel, was worth $5,000 with five other boys sharing $8,000.

Male students from schools across the island had been participating in a six-month all-inclusive skills and leadership programme to compete for the educational scholarships.

The six young men who represented their schools were Enrico Escolastica from Berkeley Institute, Alfred Trey Maybury from Saltus Grammar School, Rollin Nathan Junior from Bermuda Institute, Jordan Simmons-Trott from CedarBridge Academy, Chakote Wainwright from IMPACT Mentoring Academy and Theo Wolffe from Warwick Academy.

An Alpha Beautillion scholarship spokesperson explained that since January, the students had been mentored by the Brothers of the Epsilon Theta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and community partners such as Digicel, Deloitte, Butterfield & Vallis and Bermuda Toastmasters Club.

They also regularly visited the Matilda Smith Williams Rest Home to assist staff with the residents.

The preliminary marks comprised of community service, deportment, a written essay, attendance of workshops and selling ad/ticket sales for the awards ceremony.

The finale consisted of an introduction, a prepared speech, an impromptu Q&A on a topical subject and a step show exhibition. A panel of judges marked each segment, which was tallied up and combined with the preliminary scores to determine the winner.

Overall winner Theo Wolffe said: “The Beautillion was an amazing experience as I not only gained valuable skills but I also formed a strong friendship with other motivated student.

“I would like to thank all the Brothers for their valued mentorship throughout the Beautillion and hope that the programme can continue for many years.

“I am going to use this generous scholarship to attend University in Canada and pursue a Masters in Business Administration. It’s my hope to open my own business in Bermuda to contribute to the island that raised me.”

Runner-up, Jordan Simmons-Trott was awarded a $3,000 scholarship and second runner-up Enrico Escolastica took home a $2,000 scholarship. All of the participants received a $1,000 scholarship and the chance to attend a global leadership conference in New York later this year.

Judges included Veronique Sotto, Operational Excellence Director at Digicel; Sylvan Richards, Minister of Social Development and Sport; John Barritt, former MP and lawyer; Jessica Mello, Director, Consulting at Deloitte; and Karla Lacey, Chief Operating Officer at the, Bermuda Tourism Authority.

This year marked the 15th year since the ‘rights of passage’ scholarship programme run by the Fraternity was launched. Since 2002, the programme has mentored a total of 76 young men and raised over $165,000 towards university scholarships.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity was established in 1906 as the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity for men of African descent in America.