Young Nigerian man finally wins US Presidential scholarship

A determined young Nigerian man named Pedepo Emmanuel who was rejected many times in an attempt to study in the United States has fought back successfully to earn the United States presidential scholarship to study for his Ph.D.

Pedepo Emmanuel obtained his bachelor’s degree in Psychology with first-class honors at Lagos State University, Nigeria after which he proceeded to earn a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology at the same university.

Narrating on his Linkedin, Pedepo said after he had earned his master’s, he was offered a job as a Lab Technologist at Lagos State University which was nothing closer to his dream job but he took it ith hopes of not staying long in the job.

He said it was when he was working he got the motivation to start applying for scholarships for his doctorate degree. Pedepo stated that he applied to more than 20 schools and was accepted into none.

”I remember I was in my office when all the rejections (some call it love letters) rolled in. These, coupled with unnecessary pressure from work, just weighed me down and unmotivated me. What made it worse was that two of the people I introduced got in,” he said.

He said though he felt unmotivated and almost gave up after his rejections, he still remained hopeful. Pedepo said he started applying again, learning from his mistakes, and investing in meaningful materials.

”Mind you, getting into the application season, I had two emotional breakdowns which on its own should have made me stop (a story for another platform), but I kept trying. I do my job in the day, then scholarship applications in the nights and weekends,” he said.

Pedepo said he applied for 25 scholarships and after the rigorous screening, he got 10 interviews and two scholarship offers.  He stated that one of the scholarships was a direct Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of South Florida, which came with a Teaching Assistantship position.

He added that he also got a United States Visa appointment and he went for a Visa interview which was approved. However, a day after his Visa was approved, he got an email informing me that the Ph.D. scholarship and the Teaching Assistantship were canceled.

He stated that it was when he was still brooding on the cancellation that he got another email informing him of another award. Pedepo got a congratulatory message from the Presidential office offering him a five-year Presidential Doctoral Fellowship Award.

Pedepo said he also got another email that readmitted him into the same Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program with a Presidential Doctoral Fellowship, the most prestigious scholarship only given to the top 1% of Doctoral students in the United States.

He said he was really excited about the award stating that it is a consolation for all the rejections he suffered. He expressed his gratitude to people who showed their support directly or indirectly during the process and those who recommended him.

Pedepo is currently studying for his doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of South Florida, United States as a Presidential Doctoral Fellow.