While composing this message, I clearly remember reading through Tony Elumelu’s story of how he rose to where he is today – which began by him applying with his second class lower degree for a banking job that required a minimum of second class upper degree. He wasn’t qualified to apply, but because he had nothing to lose by applying, he decided to give it a try and that decision was the genesis of the breakthrough in his career.
I saw Mr. Victor Ogunmola’s Facebook post sometime in early August 2019 about wanting to sponsor 3 candidates for the GRE. I read through the requirements and was short of one: I wasn’t yet a graduate. Like the Elumelu story above, I wasn’t qualified but because I also had nothing to lose by applying, I decided to submit my application. I saw it as a springboard for future scholarship applications.
When the results were released, my name wasn’t in the list of the first 10 successful candidates. I didn’t feel bad. I rather took it up as a challenge to prepare very strong applications for my subsequent scholarship pursuits. Amazingly, as more partners joined the vision and more candidates were sponsored, I was ecstatic when I received the congratulatory mail that I had been selected for the funding.
Apart from fast tracking my dreams of schooling in the US, the initiative has saved me the financial stress of having to save $220 (#80,300) and $195 ( #71,175) from my meagre NYSC allowance that was meant to cater for my feeding and general upkeep. As at the time of writing this, I have been offered an admission for my MSc in a University in the USA, while awaiting decisions from the other schools to which I applied.
I am particularly grateful to God, to i-Scholar Initiative and to all our magnanimous partners for this privilege. In all sincerity, I’m amazed at the level of commitment, dedication and enthusiasm this set of persons have for the success of Nigerian graduates. Someday, the rewards will come.
In conclusion, I’m proud to be one of the pioneering recipients of the i-Scholar Initiative. I look forward to being an active sponsor in the not-too-distant future.
