I was about to spend £30,000 on an MSc. in the U.K. Data Science…. Leeds Beckett University, started the travel process;TB test, CAS , etc.
One random evening, Debbie, my friend from uni, called. We were catching up… life after school and all. Told Debbie I was going to the U.K. for MSc, self-sponsored.
Few days later, Debbie called to tell me about a fully funded scholarship. She was so eager and pushy. “Wale, I’ve tried this thing, but you’re the only person I know who meets all the requirements. The bar is really high. It’s people like you they are looking for. I believe you’ll get it.”
Such audacity. Such belief in my potentials and abilities. She forwarded all the documents to me, even paid for a coaching program. All this stress for a Wale that’s already scouting for a studio apartment in Leeds.
I was reluctant. Even though I had won multiple scholarships in the past(Microsoft, Western Union etc) , I didn’t want to join thousands of applicants hustling for the few available slots. I just wanted to do the MSc, come back to Nigeria and continue building my startup .
So I dismissed Debbie. I didn’t act. I went ahead with my U.K. plans. Was already buying and saving £s.
But Debbie kept disturbing me, so I reluctantly started the scholarship application. She’d call to ask about my progress, if I had sent my transcript, share updates about the scholarship, guide me on how to pay the admission fee etc.
I finally decided to give it a shot. Spent 3 whole days putting the application together. It was a solid application nonetheless. I put in my A-game. But to be honest, I only did it for Debbie.
Then the list came out, 9,000+ applicants from 100+ countries. Only 300 were granted. That’s a 3.3% success rate. I was among.
The congratulatory email came. A fully funded scholarship. Flight ticket, visa fee, monthly stipend, tuition, accommodation, everything.
All because Debbie was selfless and believed in my potential.
If you’ll go far in life, you must have friends who believe in your dreams and potentials.... and that will put you on.. Some friends are destiny helpers sent by God. Debbie is one.
Thank you again Debbie.
https://t.co/BKQpvPGZ5x
My lab partner for Chem looked me in the eye and asked, with complete sincerity, if she could use ChatGPT to collect our data.
She wanted to ask AI. To give her the data. That we were supposed to be collecting. In the physical lab. That was right in front of us