17-Year-Old From Nigeria Receives 19 Scholarship Offers Worth $5 Million From Top Universities In North America

A 17-year-old Nigerian high school graduate has been given 19 scholarships from some of the greatest institutions in the United States and Canada. Victory Yinka-Banjo has always been a good student, with a strong interest in STEM topics (Science, Tech, Engineering and Math). After receiving all As in her West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in 2020, Victory began to gain media notice in her home country. She also received A*s in all six Cambridge IGCSE topics, and the University of Cambridge International Examinations ranked her “Top in the World” in English as a second language (CIE).

Victory was granted a $5 million scholarship to pursue her intended undergraduate degree in Computational Biology shortly after her remarkable performance, according to CNN. The Ivy League institutions of Yale College, Princeton University, Harvard College, and Brown University, as well as MIT, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Virginia, have all made offers. She has also been offered the University of Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson scholarship and the University of British Columbia’s Karen McKellin International Leader of Tomorrow (KMILOT) award.

The U.S. and Nigeria recognize the value of education & work together to promote educational opportunities.

Congratulations to 2020 Opportunity Fund Program recipient Victory Yinka-Banjo for receiving multiple scholarship offers from universities across the United States. Kudos! pic.twitter.com/mBeQNDmWmQ

— U.S. Mission Nigeria (@USinNigeria) May 1, 2021

When asked about the university offers she got, the 17-year-old said:

“It’s all still a little surreal. Because I didn’t think any school would accept me, I applied to a lot of schools.”

Victory has gained a great deal of confidence as a result of the scholarship offerings, stating that the scholarships:

“Have encouraged me to stand straighter, grin bigger, and slap myself on the back more frequently.”

1st picture – Last week, 3 girls from a secondary school near where I live approached me and told me that I am inspiring?
They knew me from…somewhere in between watching me direct church services, teach on radio, and ‘trend’ (lol) on social media. I was blushing omggg?? pic.twitter.com/jZPPHxt8SF

— Victory Yinka-Banjo (@VictoryYBanjo) April 23, 2021

Chika Yinka-Banjo, a senior lecturer at the University of Lagos, and Adeyinka Banjo, a procurement and supply chain executive in the private sector, are proud of their daughter’s accomplishments. But, considering the rigorous criteria established by these colleges, Victory still finds it difficult to believe she has done so well. She made the following observation:

“Their admissions procedure is incredibly selective; only the finest of the best get accepted. So you can imagine how I have to remind myself on a daily basis that I truly got into these institutions.”

Despite her modesty about her performance, the 17-year-old confesses that her accomplishments are the result of all of her hard effort in sudying. She stated, ” “They have made me feel sincerely proud of the years of hard effort I have put into many aspects of my life. I’m slowly realizing that I’m deserving of them.”

Victory is analyzing her alternatives and has decided on Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Duke, and Johns Hopkins as her top choices.

Chika, her mother, believes that her daughter’s tale would encourage other Nigerian students to follow in her footsteps. She stated, ”

“It’s worth noting that she’s not one of the Nigerian-Americans who frequently get admission to top colleges due to their benefit of being born and raised in the United States. She finished secondary school in this country [Nigeria]. It would be fantastic if her tale could be utilized to encourage our country’s young.”

Victory is currently using the radio to instruct others who want to be admitted to university to study. Math, English language, biology, chemistry, and physics are among the areas in which she is assisting them.