Listen to Lola (QuickTime)
My name is Lola and this is my scholarship story. I am an undergraduate at the College of Biological Sciences here at the University of Minnesota, majoring in biology and minoring in theater. In many ways, my path to the U has been quite unusual. I was born in Lagos, Nigeria, the youngest in a family of six children. At age six my father passed away shortly after a medical procedure in Lagos due to the inaccessibility of adequate treatment. Life for my single mother was difficult in male-dominated Nigeria, so in search for better opportunities for her children she emigrated to Minneapolis when I was nine years old. We have lived here ever since.
In high school I heard of a post-secondary enrollment option offered through the U, where as a high school student I could take college classes for free. I wanted to save money for college to ease the financial burden on my single mother, so I started at the U during my junior year in high school. I fell so much in love with the atmosphere at the University of Minnesota that it was the only college I applied to. So I was thrilled to receive my acceptance letter.
Right from freshman year I never looked too far to find the spirit of camaraderie, support, and selfless generosity that exists here at CBS. I find the spirit and the passion that our instructors put in their teaching and their marvelous ability to spark one’s interest about a topic that initially seemed boring. It is in the eagerness of our advisors to promptly address our questions, always with warm smiles. It might be something in the water, but this spirit is also alive in the joy of meeting other students, having Caffeine with the Dean, and joining hundreds of CBS students, faculty, and staff to learn more about conducting research. Yet, I have never more clearly witnessed this spirit than in the generosity of those who contribute to CBS.
It has been a dream of mine to become a medical doctor after witnessing the necessity for improved health care accessibility to third world countries like Nigeria. Yet, despite the various scientific, leadership and clinical experiences I gained in my years at the U, financial burdens required in applying to medical school made this dream seem unfeasible. Just last year, not wanting to place such a burden on my family, I found myself questioning how practical pursuing this dream would be. It was then that I heard of the scholarships made possible by the generous donations of those who contribute to CBS. These donations have been a tremendous blessing in my life. They have enabled me to apply to medical school. It motivates me to work hard in all my endeavors eager for the day when I, too, will someday give back to my community as those who contributed have done for me.
