A determined Nigerian man named Olajuyin Olaleye Ebenezer has fought back successfully to win a full-ride scholarship after getting over 27 rejections in an attempt to study in the United States.
Olajuyin Olaleye bagged his bachelor’s degree from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology(LAUTECH) in Ogbomosho Nigeria. He graduated with a Second Class Upper Honors (2:1).
Olaleye said immediately after his graduation, he hoped to study cancer diseases abroad, though he saw it as just a dream that prompted him to start applying for Ph.D. positions in world universities by sending emails and letters.
”I Graduated from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Ogbomosho Nigeria (Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science)……I have this big dream of studying cancer diseases abroad, so it all started in the year 2020,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
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He stated that it was a tough moment for him as he got 27 rejections from different universities. Olaleye added that he sent 585 emails to professors requesting that they accept him but none of the emails were accepted.
”It was indeed a rough and a tough journey with massive rejections, I got 27 rejections in all but I chose not to give up, I kept applying, improving my CV, gaining more molecular skills, connecting with various scholars for guidance, and sent 584 emails to professors across the world requesting for a PhD position in there laboratory,” he added.
Despite getting tons of rejections, Olaleye did not give up on his applications, he kept applying, gained more skills, and connected with mentors. Finally, his effort paid off, and was awarded a fully funded PhD scholarship at the University of Marine in the United States.
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The PHD scholarship covers his tuition, health insurance, and a monthly stipend for upkeep. The scholarship also includes his master’s degree tuition. Olaleye expressed his happiness about the scholarship award, anticipating starting his laboratory rotation at his dream laboratory in Maine.
”A fully funded PhD scholarship at the University of Maine United States of America In the next few days I will officially start my first laboratory rotation at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine United States (My dream laboratory),” he said.
He was once an adjunct lecturer at Mercy College of Medical Laboratory Science, Makurdi, Nigeria where he was responsible for preparing teaching materials and delivering lectures on topics, techniques, and terminology in biomedical sciences.
Olaleye is a strong advocate for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 and 4 of the United Nations with a focus on non-communicable but life-threatening diseases of public health concerns such as cancer according to his Linkedin.
He said to raise awareness of the impact of cancer in his community, he volunteered with non-profit organizations including the Control Cancer Initiative of Nigeria (CCIN), Project Pink Blue, and Medlabconvo.
He has co-authored several research publications and has presented poster research abstracts at local and international conferences. Olaleye is a recipient of the prestigious Young Investigator Award by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).
Olaleye is currently studying for his doctorate in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Maine, United States.
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