Marquel Waldron was the recipient of the Ernest Drew scholarship presented by Bermuda Football Association (BFA) at Camden House yesterday.

The Legends Scholarship Awards ceremony acknowledges those athletes who excel at their sport while aspiring to further their education.

The BFA have set aside a total of $50,000 to go towards supplementing higher education – locally or abroad – for successful applicants.

Only applicants registered with a BFA-affiliated club or the Bermuda Referees Association (BRA) are eligible to apply for the programme.

Walrdon, along with five other football players, received scholarships ranging from $5,000 right up to Waldron's award which was worth $15,000.

The Bermuda Under-20 skipper is also a member of League, FA Cup and Martonmere Cup champions PHC and has played for Bermuda's Under-23s and the senior national team.

He currently is in the Cayman Islands, leading the Under-20s at the FIFA U-20 World Cup qualifying tournament.

"Football is very important to my education, and it has had a huge impact on my development as a student and as a person in general", he said after learning of his scholarship.

"Football has instilled in me some key characteristics to be successful later in life – characteristics such as courage, determination, commitment and punctuality, which are going to be essential for me through the rest of my education and as I enter the working world."

Meanwhile, Whitnae Duerr received the Alicia Zuill scholarship of $10,000. She recently graduated from CedarBridge Academy and played for the Somerset Hurricanes from 2005-2007 before moving to the PHC women's team.

Duerr is also a member of the women's national team and represented Bermuda during the Women's Olympic qualifying tournament in Antigua last year. She will commence her studies in September at St. Mary's University in Canada, aspiring to be a sports medical physician.

Her team-mates on the women's national team, sisters Tina and Ashley Wall claimed the Randolph Horton scholarship ($10,000) and Gladwin Daniels scholarship ($5,000) respectively.

In 2006, Tina earned an Associate Degree in Nuclear Medicine Technology at Keiser University in Daytona Beach, Florida. At that time she graduated with a GPA of 3.45.

She will be returning to Keiser University this upcoming semester to pursue a degree in Nuclear Medicine. She is currently a member of St. George's Lady Colts and also played on the national team during their Olympic qualifying bid.

Ashley is currently studying at Keiser University, pursuing a career in Radiologic Technology where she obtained a GPA of 3.6 in her first year. She plays for North Village.

She has previously been honoured as the BFA's Young Player of the Yea.

Two others awarded scholarships were Anwar Telford, who received the Granville Nusum scholarship for $5,000 and Andre Bassett, who collected the Keith Dunstan scholarship for $5,000.

Telford will be beginning his studies in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the New York Institute of Technology.

He is a member of the Somerset Bridge Recreation Club Academy and was a member of the Under-23 national team that competed in the Olympic qualifiers in Cuba.

Bassett will be furthering his education at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

He is a member of the Prospect United FC and has dedicated several years to coaching and refereeing in youth football programmes.