Page 79 - Future Leaders 2018-2019

remarks like “that degree will not get announcement that I would be
you a job” and “you’re going to end
up working in McDonald’s” were still
commonplace. People also suggested
that I did nursing as a fi rst degree and
then pursued chemistry after I had a
“stable” job. The dreams I had for my
life were reduced to an extracurricular
activity. Unfortunately for
A report on graduates in the UK me, becoming a
labour market, released by the Offi ce for
National Statistics in 2017, highlighted “research scientist”
that ‘graduates that had was unheard of,
an undergraduate degree in medicine or so my decision to
engineering were the most likely to be
employed and had the highest average study chemistry
gross annual pay.’ So it’s fair at university was
to say that the people who were met with a lot
against my pursuit of a chemistry
degree had my best interests at heart, of resistance in
and statistics on their side. But that the black African
doesn’t mean that an equal level of community.
success can’t be attained in other fi elds.
You might just have to work a little
harder to get there – and I was prepared
to put up a fi ght until my dreams had
been realised!
Fast-forward to fi ve years on since my
studying chemistry, and I am now
a proud University of Birmingham
graduate with a Master of Science in
Chemistry with Industrial Experience.
Contrary to what a lot of people
expected, less than halfway through
my fi nal year of studies I had already
accepted an offer for a prestigious
graduate programme with Novartis
– one of the world’s most successful
multinational pharmaceutical
companies. As part of the programme,
I am set to complete rotations over the
next two years in Switzerland, Brazil
and Austria!
With over 1500 global applicants
to this graduate programme
(Masters and PhD candidates only
at that) and only 15 places available
for natural scientists, the odds were
against me. However, with the right
attitude and strong extracurricular
achievements to back it up, together
with my faith in God, my dreams
have become a reality.
My parents, and the rest of my
community, could not be any prouder.
10 ANNIVERSARY EDITION FUTURE LEADERS 77
TH