Matthew Tavares knows the importance of hard work and dedication.He participates in Habitat For Humanity trips to help with construction projects in Brazil, Romania, Honduras, El Salvador, Paraguay, and Guatemala.The Warwick Academy graduate is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at the University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, England.Matthew is planning to enter the master’s programme next year.The 23-year-old was awarded the $25,000 Llewellyn Vorley scholarship by Belco last Thursday.He was one of 23 other Bermudian students, who were collectively awarded $200,000 in scholarships, education awards and bursaries.Matthew was awarded a $5,000 scholarship by Belco in 2008 to assist in his first year of university, and accepted invitations to work under their engineers for the past two summers.Matthew said he dedicated himself to his studies to maintain a GPA of more than 3.5.“I’m always pretty confident going in, but it was definitely more rigorous this year because there were a lot of applicants,” he said.He said his work experience with Belco, grades and extra curricular activities of humanitarian work in numerous countries helped him receive the scholarship.“When they look at my grades, they see me developing and continuing to improve.“I’ve always been good with math and physics and always been good with my hands, having worked in the construction industry for several years,” he said.Mr Tavares said his mother Jennifer McCarron, father Edward Tavares and siblings Elysse McCarron and Chis McCarron, of Warwick, are all proud of his accomplishments.“I think my 13-year-old sister is starting to look up to me by now,” he said. “She’s finding her own way really, but it does help that I’m getting scholarships and doing well to show her that hard work does pay off.”Matthew thanked Belco and said: “Having the scholarship relieves a lot of the pressure because I don’t have to worry about being able to afford school.”After his studies, Matthew plans on returning to Bermuda to begin his career.