NHEF SCHOLARSHIP: AN INTERVIEW WITH A FATSSSAite WHO EMERGED A SCHOLAR OF THE NHEF PROGRAM

By Victoria Adeusi

FATSSSA PRESS: Good day, I am Victoria from FATSSSA PRESS. Can you please introduce yourself, ma'am?

Miss Titilope: I’m Titilope Lois Odunaiya, a 400L student of psychology, from the University of Ibadan 

 

FATSSSA PRESS: Nice meeting you 

 

OK, this interview is purposed towards the scholarship you won, the NHEF scholarship for which I would like to firstly congratulate you. 

 I would like to ask you how you heard about the NHEF scholarship and what prompted you to apply for it. 

 

Miss Titilope: Thank you for taking out time to speak to me. A friend told me about it. 

So, a friend of mine from AIESEC (I’m an AIESECer) told me about it.  

I thought it was a great opportunity and I decided to go for it. I joined a community of people who were also applying for this opportunity so it helped to provide support.

FATSSSA PRESS: OK, you just took it up when you heard about it? 

Did you have any doubts 

 

Miss Titilope: Yes, I had many doubts. 

 First, I didn’t know anyone from the social sciences who was applying for this. There are also specific industry areas e.g. finance, tech, law, and so on. I didn’t fall into any of those categories 

 

FATSSSA PRESS: What was the process like and which category did you fall into?

Miss Titilope: I chose the “Other” category because I wasn’t trying to transition into the other areas listed and we wrote about seven or eight essays.  

It was not easy, I’ll be honest. I had to do a lot of thinking.

 

FATSSSA PRESS: Eight essays? How did you manage through?

I mean people encounter just one essay and back out, what kept you through?

 

Miss Titilope: I had support, though I didn’t know of anyone in the social sciences who had done this before. I knew of people in other departments who were applying.  

I had support from Israel, the person who first told me about it.  

My family was very present too 

I was also aware of the impact that this fellowship would have on my career, so it helped me keep moving.  

I have to say that God positioned people to help me keep going because I remember going to church and the pastor at some point spoke about people being in stages where they are planting seeds. I knew that I needed to continue planting my seeds (my essays lol) 

God used people to help me keep going. 

I believe I wrote seven. The last essay depended on the answer you gave to a particular question 

 

FATSSSA Press: What can you tell people who would love to apply for such? 

What are the things to do and the path to follow to give them the leverage of being selected for the program?

Miss Titilolope:  For this opportunity? I’ll say go for it, don’t limit yourself. Don’t think there’s no space for you and back out, I almost stopped because I thought there was no space for people like me.  I’m glad I did not. 

Concerning the things to do, surround yourself with a network of people who are doing the same. It’s extremely important because you’ll get tired and those people will help propel you to keep going.  Pursue excellence and self-development. 

Excellence in academics and extracurricular activities. My participation in extracurricular activities provided me with skills and experiences that were very helpful. 

Miss Titilope: [Is that satisfactory]? 

FATSSSA PRESS: Yes 

Thank you so much miss Titilope 

The interview will come to an end here