How Cynthia Ezinne Went From a First Class at University of Nigeria to Becoming the First Nigerian at University of Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment

My name is Cynthia Ezinne Ohaeri, and this is how I secured a Mastercard Foundation Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford, alongside other scholarships.
Several years before I submitted my application to the University of Oxford, I created a folder on my laptop titled “My Oxford Dreams.” It was my museum of scholarship links, essays, photographs, prayers, and other materials. The folder held every reason I believed I deserved my place at one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and every reason Oxford felt like the right environment to nurture my light.
I grew up in an environment that didn’t often inspire this kind of dream, but I was a young Nigerian girl with...