The Bermuda Public Services Union delivered educational awards to 18 young Bermudians last month to help them to pursue further education.

While the union has historically given out 12 scholarships as part of its Annual Education Awards Ceremony, the Education Committee increased the number to celebrate 30 years of scholarships.

A BPSU spokeswoman said that since the start of the initiative, the union has given out more than $755,000 in scholarships to deserving students for studies on island and overseas.

This year’s awards included nine recipients for those studying in Bermuda or online and nine for those studying overseas.

The local awards are valued at $1,500 each while the overseas awards are worth $3,500 each.

This year’s recipients of the overseas education awards include Keturah Bulford-Trott, Jada Dean, Elijah Grigsby, Jonathan Jervis, Jenesis McCallan, Elena Sanchez, Yve Smith, Layla Williams and Alnique Young-Looby.

Recipients of the local or online education award include Van Dyke Bean, Rickai Burrows, Joseph Christopher, Christine Joell, Marcelle Lawrence, Dejhi-Anne McKoy, Tiphani Philip, Selay Simons and Chynna Trott.