Business Administration
Class of 2022
Jim Ovia Foundation Leaders Scholarship
I come from Mulang, a small Community located in the City of Bamenda in the North West Region of Cameroon. In my family, I am the only girl and last child among three siblings. Being a girl, I watched my family make a lot of sacrifices to send my older brothers to school because it is believed that boys become the breadwinners of their families in the future. Like many other girls, I knew I was just supposed to attend school to any level my parents could send me to, get a job, and then live an average life.
While still in elementary school, my teacher asked me what I wanted to become in the future and I told her I wanted to be the first female United Nations Secretary-General. My teacher saw it as a childhood fantasy and thought I was eventually going to give it up when reality dawned on me. I have carried this dream with me throughout my life.
Even today, each time I tell people about this, they tell me I am dreaming beyond the achievable. I want to become the first female United Nations Secretary-General to shed the spotlight on poor and underdeveloped countries like mine. I have also lived this dream because to me, it is one of the biggest ways through which I can dare girls all over the world to dream big and believe that they can be anything they want to be.
“I want to become the first female United Nations Secretary-General to
shed the spotlight on poor and underdeveloped countries like mine.”
For the majority of my life, I lived in a middle-class family. My parents could easily provide for the majority of my needs. However, in my last year of high school, my father fell seriously ill. I was certain that my mother would be able to pay his hospital bills but unfortunately, this was not the case. My family got into a serious financial crisis. It occurred to me that my family was not as financially stable as I thought. Things got tough. My parents could not provide for us like they used to.
It was from this that I came to the realization that I had to become more than what society expected me to be. I had to break the stereotypes that the community had placed around me as a girl. I knew that I had to be the hope for my family, I had to ensure that they have a better life.
This experience shaped me into who I am and led to many of the decisions I have made since then. I found myself becoming stronger. I not only felt like I had to become a better person for my family but also that I owed it to my community because many people in my community shared a similar story with me. I had to stand out as an example to others that they do not have to be limited by their circumstances.
I resolved that I was going to work very hard to get good grades in my final exams so that I would get into one of the best universities in the world. I achieved my goal, graduating as the best student from my high school, but unfortunately, my parents could not send me to any of the best universities in the world until I was awarded a full ride scholarship to attend Ashesi University. Today, I am the first in my family to attend university.
The Jim Ovia Foundation Leaders Scholarship is more than just an educational opportunity for me. It gives me the opportunity to be a representation of the community I grew up in. I come from a community yearning for someone to make a difference. This scholarship puts me in the right position to do that. It makes it possible for me to acquire every skill I need to be an exemplary leader in my community.
“I would like to say thank you to the donors who have made it possible for me
to be at Ashesi. I would urge them to be proud of themselves for investing
in an entire community through me.”
Words would not be able to express how appreciative I am to have been among the chosen few to receive this opportunity. I would like to say thank you to the donors who have made it possible for me to be at Ashesi. I would urge them to be proud of themselves for investing in an entire community through me.
Aside from the fact that Ashesi University is one of the best universities in Africa, I chose Ashesi because to me Ashesi is home away from home. The community around Ashesi University happens to be similar to the community I grew up in back at home. It helps me to be able to relate the things I learn to the needs of the community. Also, Ashesi University is comprised of students who are changemakers. Working in a community where everyone is a changemaker motivates me to want to bring out my best to contribute my own bit to the development of my community.
I will study Business Administration at Ashesi University. This is because business is one of the riders of development. I would like to understand the ebb and flow of developed communities to be able to relate them to developing communities to improve them.
In the future, I would like to pursue a career in international development. I want to work for international development bodies like the World Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO, or FAO to design programs that will improve the well-being of people living in economically disadvantaged communities in Africa and the world.
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