UNILAG graduate who once hawked mangoes bags six PhD scholarship offers abroad

Onyeka Chukwudozie, a young Nigerian scholar, has received six doctorate scholarship offers from universities in Australia and in the United States.

In a post via his LinkedIn page, Chukwudozie described the feat as a dream come true, citing his struggles in the past.

He also revealed that he once hawked mangoes and local drinks in markets and roadside just to assist his family.

Chukwudozie, a first-class graduate from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) in 2016, further narrated how he battled several rejections in his quest to secure admission for his post-graduate studies abroad.

He said after careful consideration of the offers, he would be starting his PhD in biological sciences (virology) at the University of California, San Diego in the US.

“Finally, the dream has been actualised. I am starting my PhD in Biological sciences (virology) programme at  here at one of the most prestigious schools in the world UC San Diego (University of California, San Diego),” he wrote.

“I was once a boy who hawked mangoes and local drinks in markets and roadside to assist my family in putting food on the table.

“That same boy today gained a total of six PhD scholarships, which include University of California San Diego, Rice University, two offers from Purdue University, University of Kansas and University of Melbourne, Australia. These came after countless and painful rejections over the years.

“Honestly, it’s a three-year journey that entails tears, rejections, hope, patience, and joy. After graduating in 2016 with a first-class from the prestigious University of Lagos, it was my dream to pursue graduate studies.

“I had countless rejections, despite the number of publications and research experience. Most of these rejections were mostly from low to middle-tier schools, but I kept the perseverance. In fact, I heightened my quest and applied to top schools, and got in.”