The moment she received the email from the Chevening Secretariat informing her of being awarded a Chevening scholarship is imprinted in her mind like a tattoo. She was standing in a queue in Truworths, waiting to buy a dress for her friend Charles’ wedding and remembers feeling so unreal, like dreaming after she read it. She read that email repeatedly until she felt her face wet with tears of absolute joy and disbelief.
Applying for the Chevening Scholarship, Ndiweteko Nghishitende literally took a chance. After all, she had nothing to lose, but undeniably everything to gain. “In all honesty, I did not expect to be successful, not because I doubted myself, but simply because it just all seemed too good to be true. Imagine, a completely funded scholarship to study at any university in the United Kingdom (UK), which covers tuition, airfare, living as well as other expenses. One always reads about scholarship recipients and wonders ‘how did they do it?’. I did it, a simple girl from Odibo who has a dream of changing women and children’s lives, sitting in East London at one of the best universities in England writing this article. This can be you too. As Pablo Picasso said, ‘Everything you can imagine is real.’ I imagined this and here I am amid its reality.”
Admittedly, she was not aware of the Chevening scholarship until she finally decided to apply for UK university placements. She chose the UK firstly because of the language, and secondly because it is home to some of the best universities in the world. She started looking at possible funding options and this is how she came across the Chevening scholarship – a world-renowned prestigious scholarship scheme which enables students with leadership qualities from 144 countries and territories to undertake postgraduate studies at universities in the UK. Funding for the scheme comes from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
“My journey so far has been incredible. It consists of a mixture of everything possible. An amazing journey of self-discovery and academic excellence. A journey of genuine growth in every way imaginable. A journey of incredible sacrifice, leaving loved ones behind, in my case my daughter, and all that you know for a good year. A magnitude of gain and a once in a lifetime opportunity, a bucket list item really. Truly prestigious and simply incredible.” Further, she has learned to enjoy her own company, do things on her own, make lasting global connections, learn about so many cultures and most importantly received an ivy league education. “This is an opportunity worth every single sacrifice and as such if you can take advantage of this you owe it to yourself to do just that.”
But the first thing before applying is determination. Unfettered determination to succeed and become a global leader. Determination to see your country prosper and willingness to be part of that process. Knowledge of how you can be of service to others and how you can contribute to changing the world in whatever manner possible. Be determined to carry this through, because it does not end at your year in the UK but goes all the way to the rest of your career. The point is to provide you with a good education and connections that will pave the way for you to achieve your goals and dreams, while at the same time applying that to helping your country in the realisation of its goals.
So, take that big leap of faith and take a chance. Apply for a Chevening Scholarship award and make sure that you prepare a strong application, doing proper research and writing compelling essays. Ask for help where necessary and as per the words of William Edward Hickson, ‘Tis a lesson you should heed: Try, try, try again. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.’
*Ndiweteko Jennifer Nghishitende, is a Chevening Scholar 2017/2018 at Queen Mary University of London, doing an LLM International Human Rights Law.