Callwood Wins Ivan Dawson Memorial Scholarship as
Elizabeth L. Callwood, a 12-year-old Class Six student at Ivan Dawson Primary School in Cane Garden Bay, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Ivan Dawson Memorial Scholarship for Top Student after graduating as valedictorian on July 1. Reported by the Ivan Dawson Memorial Scholarship Committee and covered by both Virgin Islands News Online and Guavaberry, her achievement includes multiple trophies and a 10th-place ranking across the Virgin Islands in this year’s primary school assessments.
Callwood, valedictorian of the Class of 2026 at Ivan Dawson Primary School, has been named the recipient of the 2026 Ivan Dawson Memorial Scholarship for Top Student, the scholarship committee announced following the school’s graduation ceremony on July 1. According to a press release from the Ivan Dawson Memorial Scholarship Committee reported by Virgin Islands News Online (VINO), Elizabeth accepted the award after delivering the valedictory address.
Guavaberry also reported that the 12-year-old Class Six student received several trophies and awards in recognition of her outstanding academic performance and earned an impressive 10th-place ranking across the Virgin Islands in this year’s primary school assessments. In her graduation speech, Elizabeth thanked God, her family, teachers and friends for their support and reflected on the wider lessons of the school experience. “This journey has been about much more than academics.
Along the way, we learned valuable life lessons about respect, integrity, honesty, kindness, teamwork, compassion, and perseverance,” she told her classmates. She closed by urging her peers to carry the school spirit beyond graduation: “Once a Seahawk, always a Seahawk. The future is bright, and I have no doubt that each of us has the ability to achieve great things.
Let us soar forward with confidence, determination, and pride, and remember, ‘Not just for school, but for life.’” Reports note that Elizabeth is the daughter of Mr. Outside the classroom she enjoys travelling, designing clothes, reading and spending time with family. She has expressed a clear career goal of becoming a fashion designer and is already demonstrating the creativity and dedication that will help her pursue that path, the scholarship committee said in its announcement quoted by VINO and Guavaberry.
The Ivan Dawson Memorial Scholarship is awarded to the top student, and this year’s selection of a young valedictorian highlights the territory’s continuing investment in academic excellence and youth development. Community members, teachers and family congratulated Elizabeth on her accomplishments and praised her leadership during the graduation ceremony.
Elizabeth’s recognition — both locally and across the territory with a top-10 ranking — is a reminder of the homegrown talent developing in the British Virgin Islands. The Ivan Dawson Memorial Scholarship Committee extended its congratulations and best wishes for continued success, noting its hope that Elizabeth will carry her achievements forward as she pursues further education and her ambitions in fashion.
As she moves on from primary school, many in the BVI say they will be watching and supporting the next steps of a promising young designer and community role model.
Primary source: VINO