An exceptional 22-year-old Lady named Nkechinyere Chidi-Ogbolu bags has earned her PhD degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, United States.
Nkechinyere Chidi-Ogbolu who hailed from Nigeria had an outstanding academic journey, securing admission for her Bachelor’s degree at Howard University, Washington DC at the age of 14.
She eventually earned her Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at the age of 18 and immediately won a Master’s and PhD scholarship to study Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering. Despite her exceptional academic achievements, Nkechinyere Chidi-Ogbolu does not describe herself as a genius.
“I have always been somewhat academically gifted. But, I would not describe myself as a genius. I just found the right information and made use of it. My parents are also instrumental to that. My mum would look for information and act on it,” she told Punch.
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Nkechinyere Chidi-Ogbolu finally earned her PhD in Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering in 2022 at the young age of 22. Celebrating her achievement on LinkedIn, she stated that her PhD was the most stressful and challenging thing she has ever put herself through.
“With all sincerity, this Ph.D. journey was THE most stressful and challenging thing I have EVER put myself through. They say when you do a Ph.D. you learn to fail….they ain’t never told a lie for real y’all,” she said.
Nkechinyere Chidi-Ogbolu narrated that every year of her PhD has its own set of challenges but she was able to pull through just before her 23rd birthday. “After completing my dissertation defense in April just a few weeks before my 23rd birthday, it was amazing getting to top off the celebrations with friends and family on graduation day,” she said.
“Every year there was some sort of crisis that I was sure would be the one to take me out the game for good. And when those Ph.D blues hit mid pandemic? I wanted to run away,” she added.
Nkechinyere Chidi-Ogbolu thanked her friends, family and mentors who were supportive of her throughout her journey. She listed her achievements along the road.
“I had a first-authored paper that has been cited over 100 times. I presented my work in multiple conferences and workshops alongside people that I look up to and admire in my field. I completed two internships and a master’s during my Ph.D. and still finished under the average time to completion (5.1 years).”
“Defended my Ph.D. at 22 as I wanted. I had multiple job offers for next steps (results on that later). Overall, this was certainly a rewarding experience. I’ve added to my friends for life collection and I am so excited for what’s next for all of us,” she said.
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