Nworie, First-class Mathematics Graduate In Viral Farm Photo Bags PhD Scholarship In US

Emmanuel Nworie, a first-class mathematics graduate of the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, has bagged a fully-funded
scholarship at a university in the United States.

The photo of Nworie, who was tilling the soil in Ebonyi state
owing to poverty and a lack of a platform to utilize his knowledge,
went viral a few months ago.

The 27-year-old, who graduated with a cumulative grade point
average of 4.92/5.00, had experienced a life of hardship before he
applied for the Michael Taiwo (MT) Scholarship.

“I started having challenges in 2005 when we struggled with the
health of my dad. I have long wanted to be a mathematician. But
after my dad passed away, I was deterred because at some point when
I was trying to save for undergraduate studies and after two years
I couldn’t save enough, so I was frustrated,” he had said in an
interview with TheCable.

Michael Taiwo, a US-based Nigerian and sponsor of MT
Scholarships, alongside Suraj Oyewale, founder of JarusHub, a
career and education platform, identified Nworie during the
selection of candidates for the scholarship.

The UNN graduate emerged as one of the 23 candidates selected
from a pool of 1,509 applicants for the scholarship, covering costs
for application fees and the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) — a
requirement for the graduate application for some courses in the
US.

In a statement on Tuesday, Taiwo announced Nworie’s selection
for a fully-funded PhD in mathematics at the Southern Methodist
University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas.

He said the first-class mathematician received three offers from
universities in the southern part of the US.

“Today, I am pleased to announce that Emmanuel Chinweuba Nworie
has accepted a fully-funded offer to study for his PhD in
Mathematics at the Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas,
Texas. SMU is a prestigious private research university. Emmanuel
prefers locations with warm weather. He received three great
offers, all from schools in the southern part of the US,” he
said.

“Mentors are our secret sauce. It is hard to exaggerate the role
Dr. Busayo Aworunse, Emmanuel’s assigned mentor, played in
delivering the outcome we celebrate today. Busayo, thank you. Help
me congratulate Emmanuel. I cannot wait to see what he does with a
Math PhD from SMU!”

Speaking with TheCable, Taiwo described Nworie’s achievement as
remarkable.

He said he still feels “the rage and sadness I spoke about a
couple of months ago, but I feel happy for him in particular and
hope in general that we can make a difference”.

“He is going to one of the best universities in the world. SMU
is a costly school, more expensive than Ivy League schools like
Harvard and Yale. He will be schooling with people from the richest
families in the world. This is the kind of exposure we (the MT
Scholarship team) and he felt like he needed so that he can think
big with his God-endowed brain,” he said.

“It costs over $75,000 per year to attend SMU. Emmanuel won’t
pay a single dollar out of this. In addition to this, he will be
given a very generous stipend to cater for his living expenses. The
interesting thing is that he got three of this type of offers from
Southern Methodist University, the University of Tennessee at
Knoxville, and the University of Texas at Dallas.”

When asked about his advice for other distinguished graduates
who share similar stories like Nworie, Taiwo said such people
should endeavour to utilize the internet to access available
opportunities.

“I would say they should keep up hope and try to move to a city
where they can have access to the internet. As you can remember
from Emmanuel’s story, his breakthrough came because he was in
Enugu when the application window for the annual Michael Taiwo
Graduate School Application scholarship was open,” he said.

“If he had been at his farm in Ebonyi, he would have missed this
generation-changing opportunity. So my advice is that they should
relocate to where they can get access to information, i.e. the
internet.”

Emmanuel Nworie, a first-class mathematics graduate of the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, has bagged a fully-funded
scholarship at a university in the United States.

The photo of Nworie, who was tilling the soil in Ebonyi state
owing to poverty and a lack of a platform to utilize his knowledge,
went viral a few months ago.

The 27-year-old, who graduated with a cumulative grade point
average of 4.92/5.00, had experienced a life of hardship before he
applied for the Michael Taiwo (MT) Scholarship.

“I started having challenges in 2005 when we struggled with the
health of my dad. I have long wanted to be a mathematician. But
after my dad passed away, I was deterred because at some point when
I was trying to save for undergraduate studies and after two years
I couldn’t save enough, so I was frustrated,” he had said in an
interview with TheCable.

Michael Taiwo, a US-based Nigerian and sponsor of MT
Scholarships, alongside Suraj Oyewale, founder of JarusHub, a
career and education platform, identified Nworie during the
selection of candidates for the scholarship.

The UNN graduate emerged as one of the 23 candidates selected
from a pool of 1,509 applicants for the scholarship, covering costs
for application fees and the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) — a
requirement for the graduate application for some courses in the
US.

In a statement on Tuesday, Taiwo announced Nworie’s selection
for a fully-funded PhD in mathematics at the Southern Methodist
University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas.

He said the first-class mathematician received three offers from
universities in the southern part of the US.

“Today, I am pleased to announce that Emmanuel Chinweuba Nworie
has accepted a fully-funded offer to study for his PhD in
Mathematics at the Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas,
Texas. SMU is a prestigious private research university. Emmanuel
prefers locations with warm weather. He received three great
offers, all from schools in the southern part of the US,” he
said.

“Mentors are our secret sauce. It is hard to exaggerate the role
Dr. Busayo Aworunse, Emmanuel’s assigned mentor, played in
delivering the outcome we celebrate today. Busayo, thank you. Help
me congratulate Emmanuel. I cannot wait to see what he does with a
Math PhD from SMU!”

Speaking with TheCable, Taiwo described Nworie’s achievement as
remarkable.

He said he still feels “the rage and sadness I spoke about a
couple of months ago, but I feel happy for him in particular and
hope in general that we can make a difference”.

“He is going to one of the best universities in the world. SMU
is a costly school, more expensive than Ivy League schools like
Harvard and Yale. He will be schooling with people from the richest
families in the world. This is the kind of exposure we (the MT
Scholarship team) and he felt like he needed so that he can think
big with his God-endowed brain,” he said.

“It costs over $75,000 per year to attend SMU. Emmanuel won’t
pay a single dollar out of this. In addition to this, he will be
given a very generous stipend to cater for his living expenses. The
interesting thing is that he got three of this type of offers from
Southern Methodist University, the University of Tennessee at
Knoxville, and the University of Texas at Dallas.”

When asked about his advice for other distinguished graduates
who share similar stories like Nworie, Taiwo said such people
should endeavour to utilize the internet to access available
opportunities.

“I would say they should keep up hope and try to move to a city
where they can have access to the internet. As you can remember
from Emmanuel’s story, his breakthrough came because he was in
Enugu when the application window for the annual Michael Taiwo
Graduate School Application scholarship was open,” he said.

“If he had been at his farm in Ebonyi, he would have missed this
generation-changing opportunity. So my advice is that they should
relocate to where they can get access to information, i.e. the
internet.”