Victory Yinka-Banjo Bags 19 Scholarship Offers Worth $5m From US, Canada

One Nigerian teenager must feel like she has the world at her feet after receiving 19 full-ride scholarship offers from universities across the United States and Canada.

Victory Yinka-Banjo, a 17-year-old high school graduate, was offered more than $5 million dollars’ worth of scholarship money for an undergraduate program of study, according to admission documents and estimates of financial aid awards.

“

It still feels pretty unbelievable. I applied to so many schools because I didn’t even think any school would accept me,” Victory told CNN, relishing her academic prowess.

Born to Nigerian parents, Chika Yinka-Banjo, a senior lecturer at the University of Lagos, and Adeyinka Banjo, a private sector procurement and supply chain executive, Victory was given potential full scholarships from the Ivy League schools, Yale College, Princeton University, Harvard College, and Brown University.

Other US scholarship offers included those from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Virginia.

In Canada, Victory was offered the Lester B. Pearson scholarship from the University of Toronto and the Karen McKellin International Leader of Tomorrow (KMILOT) scholarship from the University of British Columbia.

“Their admissions processes are extremely selective,” Victory added. “They only accept the best of the best. So, you can imagine how, on a daily basis, I have to remind myself that I actually got into these schools. It is surreal!”

Academic strides

A senior prefect during her time in high school, Victory rose to national prominence in late 2020 after she scored straight As in her West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Months earlier, the Nigerian teen had been rated as the “Top in the World” in English as a second language (speaking endorsement) by the University of Cambridge International Examination (CIE). Victory aced the Cambridge IGCSE exam — acquiring A* in all six subjects she sat for.

“They have made me truly feel proud about the hard work I have put into several areas of my life over the years. I am slowly beginning to realize that I deserve them,” she said.

The teenager remarked that her multiple scholarship offers “have made me stand taller, smile wider, and pat myself on the back more often.”

Victory said she hopes to study Computational Biology. However, she is still weighing up her options on which school to choose, having been wooed by many prestigious institutions.

“I am still doing research on some schools that are at the top of my list, like Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Duke, Johns Hopkins, and just trying to compare and contrast all of them thoroughly,” she told CNN.

08104964100 📞 For your Advert Placement, Press Release, Personality Promotion, Special Report, Conference, Interviews, Media And Publicity And So On

©VAM News

READ ALSO

Ortom Vs Buhari: Adopt Ruga If You Want Peace In Benue – Garba Shehu To Governor

Governor Samuel Ortom wants peace in Benue, he should cooperate with President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime by accepting Ruga and other policies, says the Presidency.

Mr Buhari’s media aide, Garba Shehu, claimed the recent spate of insecurity ravaging the state resulted from Mr Ortom’s rejection of Ruga settlements.

His comment came on the heels of the killing of Benue residents on Tuesday by killer herders. While reacting to the Tuesday violence, Mr Ortom had said Mr Buhari’s “action and inaction” was responsible, accusing him of Fulanisation of Nigeria.

However, Mr Shehu, in a statement on Thursday, claimed the governor’s refusal to adopt the controversial Ruga policy showed he did not value people’s interest.

The governor had rejected the policy describing it as deceptive and against the interest of Benue indigenes, who are predominantly farmers.

“Benue under the Ortom administration ought to cooperate with the federal government in the implementation of a number of national strategies programmes in addressing underlying issues militating against peace, progress, and development.

“This can still get done when the interest of the people is placed above all other interests. A government voted into office by the people should treat the people as its masters and not as its servants,” said the statement.

Mr Buhari also accused the governor of stirring religious and ethnic violence, accusing Mr Ortom of the divide-and-rule tactic

“As Nigerians, we accuse colonial rulers of the policy of divide and rule.

“Today, it is our own leaders who pit region against region, religion against religion, ethnic group against ethnic group, and community against community,” the statement added.

08104964100 📞 For your Advert Placement, Press Release, Personality Promotion, Special Report, Conference, Interviews, Media And Publicity And So On