November 14, 2014, by International students

My thoughts on the scholarship celebration event

International scholarships celebration event

At times, I imagine if there’s a way we can communicate as human species, beyond the realm of spoken and written words because sometimes, words fail to fully convey the entire depth of certain emotions or feelings. One such occasion was when I got the email which told me that I had been offered a scholarship to study at The University of Nottingham. To say I was ecstatic would be a gross understatement.

It felt as though I was in a cloud within the period I got the offer in Nigeria and when I finally resumed studies here in the University of Nottingham. Tuesday 11 November 2014 was a day that allowed me rekindle that initial emotion once again, at the scholarship celebration event – an event that brought together all the 2014/15 scholars in a celebratory ambience. The event also had representatives from the different scholarship awarding partners in attendance as well as the University International Office staff and some past awardees.

It was a great opportunity to interact with some the other scholars, of course from diverse cultures and backgrounds. And I think the effort of the University in that regard should be commended especially when one considers the vast number of scholarships which the University makes available to international students, particularly in developing countries.

Tomi and some Mexican friends

The presence of some of the past awardees was also apt as it afforded an opportunity to learn from their experiences. I was particularly impressed by Ira Pozon’s speech; a Filipino Chevening scholar from the previous session who studied LLM International Commercial Law. He managed to offer some insight on the diversity at the University and the need to embrace it while taking the necessary learnings from this unique experience. And being a lawyer that he is, he managed to stay longer on the podium than any other speaker yet when he left, you’d have wanted him to continue (I thought his speech was that captivating).

Ira Paulo Pozon

Afrakoma Afriyie-Asante was another past awardee who had just completed her masters in Immunology and incidentally, the young lady from Ghana has been awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship to do a PhD (hard work pays in Nottingham!)

Tomi and Miss Afrakoma

The event was also a time for ‘self-congratulations’ especially with the revelation from the International Office about the huge number of applications they receive annually. It sure makes one feel a sense of achievement but again I think this also places a demand on the shoulders of every scholar to make the best of the opportunity since so many others would have gladly taken one’s place. It’s certainly a big opportunity with which equally comes big responsibilities.

And lest I forget, it was also a very colourful event especially with some of the scholars dressed in their national attires which sure made it look like a mini United Nations symposium. The event ended with lots of picture snapping, more networking and cakes. Meanwhile, in typical British fashion, tea was not in short supply! After that, it was time to head back to the library which was a few blocks away to study some more and maybe this time next year, who knows if I will be the one addressing the next stream of scholars.

Happy, smiling scholarship winners

Olutomisin Adedeji, MSc Crop Improvement student and Developing Solutions scholarship winner from Nigeria.

Visit the International Office Facebook page for more photos of the scholarships celebration event.

Find out more about our international student scholarships.

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