Obaseki Eseiwi

University of Benin

Wayne State University, PhD Plant Biology

I was born as the first child of a large polygamous family of 11 children. My dad is a level six civil servant in Nigeria, who started out well in his entrepreneurial endeavor but as life would have it, lost everything in a single transaction. My mum is unemployed but involved in petty trade to support herself and children. Due to the unfortunate incident that happened to my dad, some of my siblings had to go stay with family relatives so they could continue their education. My university education experience was not a good one as I went to school from home through my study years because my parents could not afford hostel accommodation and monthly allowance. Looking back, it was not so terrible because it meant that money I got from tutorials and private lessons, I took back home to support my mum and siblings. Despite these challenges, I graduated as the overall best graduating student of the university during my academic session with a CGPA of 4.96 out of 5.00 from the department of Plant biology and Biotechnology, and with the assistance of EducationUSA, I secured two fully funded PhD positions in the USA. I look forward to completing my doctorate program successfully at Wayne State University, it will be nice to have a doctor title to my name.

Oluwadara Olasupo

University of Ibadan

Florida State University, PhD Chemistry

I am Oluwadara Joshua Olasupo, and I am the fourth of five children. Born into a family where both parents painstakingly served the government as school teachers, it wasn’t hard for me to understand the significance of formal education. I pretty much had the privilege of gleaning good examples in my parents and older siblings. So, early in life, I also set out to improve the standard of my life, family, and society with the benefits of education – for me, education should free the mind from mediocrity. Therefore, I was determined to reach the pinnacle of this mind-freedom, which clearly defines my drive and passion for excellence.

 I had my primary and secondary education at Maryhill Convent School and Loyola College in Ibadan, Nigeria. I was a very bright student, but I only consciously discovered my potentials later in high school, where I consistently topped my class and became the Senior Prefect Boy. I think I can now say that the rich background my father dished out to me as a biochemist encouraged me also to pursue a degree in Chemistry at the University of Ibadan and to graduate with a First-Class grade.

 In my few years, I can ascertain that success is never entirely a bed of roses. While most successful stories sound inspiring, the paths taken were not void of challenges. I navigated my university days with lots of financial hassles, but somehow, they couldn’t deter me from success. One remarkable success is being an EducationUSA OFP scholar with four Ph.D. admissions and funding at American universities.

 Today, I am still full of life, hopes and dreams as I plan to pursue doctoral studies in Chemistry at Florida State University. I am optimistic that the findings from my scientific research will make the world much more beautiful!

Oluwakemi Igiehon

University of Benin

Louisiana State University Health Science Center, Shreveport

Oluwakemi is one of the 2020 Opportunity Funds scholars who secured a fully-funded PhD admission (over $33,000/year) at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.

Oluwakemi graduated from the department of Microbiology at the University of Benin, where she emerged as the overall best graduating student and valedictorian in the 2016/2017 academic session. She was an active member of the National Association of Microbiology Students (NAMS). She has always aspired to seek for medical interventions for combating infectious diseases plaguing West Africa, and EducationUSA brought to her opportunities that will make her dreams come through.

Through the Opportunity Fund Program, Oluwakemi will be pursuing her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology.

Oluwaseun is a graduate of the Federal University of Technology, Akure Nigeria with first-class honors in Mechanical Engineering. Oluwaseun graduated as the best student in his department, held several leadership positions and was an energetic Development Knowledge Facilitator (for the SDGs Club) during his NYSC. He is the Convener of the GEGAS Initiative (Get Educated, Get A Skill Initiative), where he focuses on ensuring access to quality education for the less privileged and vulnerable in Nigeria, impacting them with relevant digital skills needed to create change in their spheres of influence. As an Opportunity Funds Scholar, Oluwaseun worked with EducationUSA Lagos, was exposed to first-hand information and guidance needed in applying to U.S. schools and provided with the necessary resources needed to make his dreams a reality. Oluwaseun applied and was admitted to U.S. schools but will be attending the University of Cincinnati, Ohio where he is now a recipient of scholarships and funding worth $55,000 with additional stipends and support. Oluwaseun will be studying for a PhD in Mechanical engineering with his research focusing on the thrust area of intelligent manufacturing. His work is expected to focus on the use of methods from combined optimal design and control (co-design) to manage integrated system design decisions. He also hopes to use a relatively new, balanced co-design approach known as multidisciplinary dynamic system design optimization to solve various automotive vehicles design problems. His research requires knowledge from a variety of disciplines, including engineering, business, policy, and industrial design. Oluwaseun appreciates EducationUSA in his words: “The excellent human interaction coupled with the lessons learnt during the mentoring program will definitely remain as fuel to my burning passion and desire of bringing about lasting development in Africa”.

Oluwaseun Fapohunda

Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko

The University of Arizona, PhD Biochemistry

I hail from Akungba Akoko, Ondo state, Nigeria. I am the 2nd son, 4th child born into a family of 7. My Dad is an auto mechanic and my mum is a nanny. I had a wonderful time from birth till around 4 years of age. This awesome time was soon thwarted into gloominess when things took a different turn for my family and we were faced with the reality of life in abject poverty and neglect. I was withdrawn from the private nursery school just after a term spent there. I grew up attending public schools all through.

I was able to bag my B.Sc. (Hons) Biochemistry from Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko, Ondo state (AAUA) and M.Sc Biochemistry from University of Lagos (UNILAG) despite the hardships. My educational pursuit was indeed a tortuous journey as I had to cross several hurdles to meet up with its demands.

I could remember when my Dad sent me #2,000 as my stipend for 2 years. I could not do labor jobs because of my physique however, I always resorted to teaching in primary and secondary schools at every available opportunity. The hard work actually paid off when I graduated as the valedictorian of 2012/2013 set at AAUA with a GA offer in 2016. Today, I am pursuing my PhD at the University of Arizona fully funded.

Oluwaseyifunmi is a first class graduate of Microbiology from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria where she was the best-graduating student in the department of Microbiology, 2017/2018 session. As a result, she was awarded the Professor Odeyemi Prize for the best graduating student and Professor Omafuvbe’s award for the best graduating female student in the department. During my service year, she was actively involved in volunteering and was a member of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) group. Furthermore, she was selected for the Dr. D. K. Olukoya’s Award of Excellence in August 2019. With the help of the EducationUSA Advisors and the wealth of credible information obtained from the EducationUSA boot camp in 2019, she secured a full scholarship with the University of South Florida, Tampa for a PhD in Medical Sciences with a concentration in Allergy, Immunology and Infectious diseases. The scholarship started in fall 2020, is worth over $55,000 yearly and comes with health insurance, full time employment at the Morsani College of Medicine and a one-time signing bonus. In her own words: “EducationUSA has indeed been a blessing and it is gratifying to know that highly-recognized bodies like them assist students in fulfilling their dreams of either starting or furthering their studies in the U.S. As an Opportunity Funds Scholar, you are appropriately guided into making the right decisions and equipped with the adequate resources and information. My journey to graduate studies started with EducationUSA (as an Opportunity Funds applicant) and so far, it is one of the best decisions I made in 2019. Being a part of the OFP has given me exposure, taught me resilience, determination and hard work.”

Richard Ede

University of Jos

The University of Arizona

I, Ede Richard Richie, was born in Zaria, Kaduna state but I’ve spent a significant amount of my life in Jos, Plateau state. My mum is a teacher in a primary while my dad has been unemployed for almost 20 years (after losing his job in a controversial way). Soon after I had graduated from SSS3, I wrote the UTME exam and applied for admission into the university. Unfortunately, I was not given admission. In order to avoid sitting at home idle, and in an attempt to assist my mum with the bills at home, I decided to look for a job in a primary school (mostly because I always hear people saying it’s easy to get a teaching job). After working for about nine-months, I finally secured admission into the University of Jos to study Industrial Chemistry. My family reacted to this news with mixed feelings because even though they were excited I had finally gotten admission; they knew there was literally no money to sponsor me through school. Being optimistic and with the encouragement of my mum, I accepted the admission. In order to raise funds for my tuition and other school necessities, I took up some home lessons in addition to my part-time job. My undergraduate years were probably the most challenging years in my life as I was faced with several financial and family problems, not to mention the intermittent attacks from Boko haram that plagued Jos. Despite the setbacks, I was the best graduating student in my department with 4 publications in International peer review journals.

After graduating from the University and prior to NYSC, I was introduced to the process of securing admission for graduate studies in the United State. Given that not all my documents were ready at that time, I decided to wait until I was done with service. Immediately after service, I got accepted into the program and started intense prep for the exams. I ended up with a score of 317 (160Q, 157V) while my TOEFL was 111 (27 in reading, 28 in all others). I started applying to schools that did research I was interested in. At the end of it all, I had 8 fully funded offers (Ph.D.), 1 partially funded offer (M.Sc.), 5 rejects, and 1 school that never responded (I assume they rejected as well). After much thought, I have decided to attend the University of Arizona for a Chemistry Ph.D. This decision was greatly informed by the strength of their Chemistry program and the ongoing research in the school, which closely aligns with my interest.

Oladipupo Ridwan Bello had his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Animal Science from the University of Ibadan, where he graduated with First class honors and a distinction, respectively. He has several awards to his name, including an award as the Best Practical Year Student of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Ibadan, in 2014, and an award as the nationwide Best Candidate in the 2016 Graduate Animal Scientist Examination. During his time at the University of Ibadan, he served as the Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Association of Agricultural Science Students (NAAS), Finance Minister of Tedder Hall, and Honorable Member of the Student Union House of Representatives. In 2019, he was admitted into the EducationUSA Lagos Opportunity Funds Program. With the support and guidance of the EducationUSA advisors, he got admission into three graduate programs in the U.S. He got a tuition fellowship from the University of California, Davis, and a teaching and research assistantship from the University of Maryland, College Park, and North Carolina State University. He is currently enrolled at the University of Maryland, College Park, for his Ph.D. in Animal Genetics.

Samuel Babatunde Obadawo

Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko

University of Toledo, PhD Industrial Chemistry

Despite having experienced a series of delays before gaining admission into a Nigerian University, I graduated with a First Class (Hons) degree from the Department of Chemical Sciences, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Ondo State. After graduation, I served at the University of Ilorin where I developed my research methodology (Computational Chemistry) by reading a lot of journals, participated in experimental activities, and reviewed a good number of manuscripts. My captivation towards Computational Chemistry was primarily due to my passion for using modeling in solving real-world problems. I was offered admission with full funding at a University in the State of Ohio, among other schools on my list.

Sidney Nwakanma

University of Abuja

Washington University in St Louis, PhD Statistics

Growing up, my father worked in the civil service while my mother taught in a school. For some time when I was younger, things were good as my siblings and I attended good private schools, that was until our situation took an unexpected turn. I secured admission into a private secondary (boarding) school on partial scholarship and naively, I expected life to glide smoothly and to continue with its positive trajectory. This ‘presumption’ came crashing down some months before I was to write the junior WAEC examination, and that was when the situation of my family and I completely devolved.

Getting into a university was tough, my parents were always worried about how they’ll afford it but they wanted the best for all their children. Though this was tasking, at the end of my four-year program I graduated with a First Class degree as the best student in my faculty and as the best student overall in the university.

With the aid of the EducationUSA advisors, I was able to navigate the sometimes herculean process of applying to graduate school in the United States. They encouraged me to write the various standardized tests such as the GRE and TOEFL and they linked us up with OFP scholars who had gone through the process and who were able to proffer solutions to our questions. At the end of the process, I got a fully funded offer of admission into the PhD Statistics program at Washington University in St. Louis worth $85,627 per year.

Tobenna Anyaezu

University of Benin

University of Oklahoma, MSc Petroleum Engineering

Tobenna Anyaezu is a 2020 Opportunity Funds Scholar who got over $30,000 per year in funding to pursue his master’s in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. He was the best graduating student in the Department of Petroleum Engineering Class of 2017 at the University of Benin. He is an active member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and has represented the University of Benin at Paper contests and Petrobowl quiz competitions organized by SPE. He is passionate about research and volunteering. He also tutored penultimate students in Formation evaluation and petrophysics during his time at Uniben. His research focus is on drilling geomechanics and Petrophysics data-driven Analysis. He plans to develop innovative ways to produce earth resources in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.

Okinedo, Uzezi Elizabeth is a first-class graduate of Cell Biology and Genetics from University of Lagos, Nigeria. She currently works as an Assistant Lecturer in her alma mater and was able to complete a Master’s degree in Cell and Molecular Biology through the Vice Chancellor’s graduate assistantship award. Uzezi has held several leadership positions and has also been actively involved in various voluntary activities and organizations. Whilst in school, she served as the Vice President department’s student association and was also a campus fellowship leader. During her NYSC, she championed a project called ‘Science Enhance Project’ that focused on improving the quality of science education in rural communities and encouraging science participation in undergraduate and high school students. She was also the general secretary of the Environmental sanitation community development group. Currently, she’s an ambassador for Women Tech Network, a YALI fellow and a member of professional organizations like Genetics Society of Nigeria (GSN) and the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE). She’s an astute scholar with over 8 publications in both local and international journals and has also presented in several conferences. Uzezi was a recipient of the UNILAG academic excellence endowment award for 3 consecutive sessions, the Science Student Fellowship Award for academic excellence and the Dr. D.K. Olukoya Academic Award of Excellence. In 2020, she was selected as an EducationUSA Opportunity Fund scholar through which she has been able to secure a full scholarship of over $54,000 to pursue a PhD in Molecular, Cellular and Organismal Biology in University of Massachusetts Boston. She will be specializing in Plant Molecular Genetics and Systems Biology where she will be working on improving the quality of some important food crops in Africa. For Uzezi, the time spent with EducationUSA Lagos was a life changing experience. In her words: “Apart from the financial aid I received from the Opportunity Fund Program, the program helped to redirect my focus to what’s important as I had access to relevant information on how to search for graduate programs and access funding. I also met and networked with really exceptional personalities”.

Victor Obi Chizoba graduated from the Federal University of Technology, Akure with First-class honors in Applied Geology. He finished as the second best in his department as well as the best graduating student in Petroleum Geology. He also received several professional and academic awards and held leadership positions. Victor was selected as an OFP Scholar and by working with EducationUSA Lagos advisers, he secured a fully-funded scholarship (Teaching and Research Assistantship) to study Geosciences at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. His research is based on the physics of contamination transport in porous media as well digital rock physics. He currently has one publication and two articles in his field. In his words: “EducationUSA is proof that blurry visions can be very clear and achievable if you PUSH (Persist Until Something Happens). My advisers exposed and opened me to a lot of resources and information(s) within and outside the center. No doubt, the richness of the guidance you get from the advisors here is enough to make this process a successful one. The experience I have gotten from being an OFP scholar would sure stir me up to achieve greater heights and of course, improve the standard of living globally through research and development”.

Abraham Ojima

Government Secondary School Karu

Franklin and Marshall College

Abraham Ojima is a  2019 Opportunity Funds Scholar. Through EducationUSA, Abraham secured a full scholarship worth $76,000 (30 Million Naira) per year to study Computer Science at Franklin & Marshall College. Abraham attended Government Secondary School Karu, Abuja, where he participated in the Red Cross Society, The JETS club, The Science Olympiad Club, The Mathematics Club, and the GSS Karu Football Team.

Before attending F and M, Abraham taught himself how to program and became fluent in web development languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and SQL), Python, and Arduino.

Abraham is the first in his family to attend university. The journey took him 3 years. Despite the many setbacks and obstacles, he never gave up.

Bilikisu Omoyeni Ayeni graduated as the Head Girl of May Day College, Lagos with 7As and 2 Bs in WAEC, and at top of her academic stream in Oxbridge Tutorial College, where she was a member of the Student Representative Council. She is a co-founder of CLOAK Initiative (Clothe-A-Kid Initiative) which is an organization that aims to offer physical needs and moral support to younger children in her community. As an Opportunity Funds Scholar, Omoyeni was exposed to first-hand information and guidance of EducationUSA Lagos, as well as good values that surround the environment. With the support of these resources, she is now a recipient of the MasterCard Foundation Scholarship at Wellesley College with funding worth $77,000 and additional stipends and support. Omoyeni’s interactions with people with highly stigmatized psychiatric illnesses, coupled with research opportunities she has had as a student of Wellesley College, fuels her passion to contribute to a reform of the mental health sector in Africa.