A 16-year aspiring actuary is this year’s All Bahamas Merit Scholar.

A graduate of Bishop Michael Eldon School, Gabrielle Moss will pursue that dream with the help of a $140,000 four-year scholarship to John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland where she will study Applied Mathematics and Statistics.

Gabrielle was this year’s high school valedictorian and its deputy head girl.

She was also first in a class of 75, Grand Bahama’s top achiever in the 2013 BGCSE examinations with eight ‘A’s’ and one ‘B’ and on the Chairman’s Honour Roll from 2006 to 2014.

In her past time, the teen is an avid pianist and saxophonist, a youth ambassador for Grand Bahama and a member of a softball team.

Though still shocked by being chosen as this year’s scholarship recipient, Gabrielle said she is truly grateful.

“The fact that they believe in me, believe in my dream and is supporting me is truly means a lot and not only my family, but the Lyford Cay Foundation, the Ministry of Education and Grand Bahama, I am truly grateful,” she said on Thursday.

Aside from becoming an actuary, Gabrielle, the daughter of Marco City MP, attorney Greg Moss and college lecturer, Wendy Moss, also wants to teach music and math to people in her community.

“The Bahamas cannot be built when educated youth go abroad and remain put; only when graduates return, can The Bahamas properly development,” she said.

Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald said Gabrielle’s achievement is an indication of the talent in The Bahamas.

“There are many more like her in the country and so the future of the country is very bright and we just want to congratulate her for her outstanding achievement and also to encourage other Bahamian students to continue to strive for excellence when it comes to their education,” he said.

The All-Bahamas Merit Scholarship is awarded to the single most promising Bahamian high school graduate accepted to a demanding college.

The scholarship is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Education, the Central Bank of The Bahamas and the Lyford Cay Foundation, which provides half of the funding.