My name is Cynthia Ezinne Ohaeri, and this is how I secured a Mastercard Foundation Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford, alongside other scholarships.
Several years before I submitted my application to the University of Oxford, I created a folder on my laptop titled “My Oxford Dreams.” It was my museum of scholarship links, essays, photographs, prayers, and other materials. The folder held every reason I believed I deserved my place at one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and every reason Oxford felt like the right environment to nurture my light.
I grew up in an environment that didn’t often inspire this kind of dream, but I was a young Nigerian girl with big ambitions. I began by studying Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, trying to build a future larger than every limitation around me. I carried a deep conviction that my life was meant to resonate globally. I have always believed that if someone had to get into anywhere, why not me?
I became the first Nigerian to study at the University of Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, where I currently study for a degree in Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment. I have secured the prestigious Mastercard Foundation Scholarship at the University of Oxford, alongside the AfOx-Linacre Norman and Ivy-Lloyd Scholarships. I was also nominated for the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarship and the Oxford Smith School Scholarship, giving credence to the quality of my application.
Saying those words still feels surreal.
But the journey to the University of Oxford was far from easy. People see the photographs when I share them now – the University’s prestigious academic wear for formal events, the historic Bodleian libraries, the dreamy aesthetic of cobblestone streets and old architecture – but they rarely see the years of preparation behind the scenes. They do not see the endless nights spent studying, writing applications, researching scholarships, balancing a multifaceted career as a multi-potential creative and pushing through exhaustion. They did not see the moments where fear whispered, “What if you fail?”
I have learned that courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is feeling the fear, throwing on my favourite dress, saying one or two words of affirmation to myself, and doing it anyway. When fear whispered, “What if you fail?” I responded, “What if I thrive?”
I graduated from the University of Nigeria as a valedictorian with a First-Class Honours degree in Physics and Astronomy. I worked across the aviation, oil and gas, and renewable energy industries, contributing to projects spanning petroleum engineering, carbon efficiency modelling, solar installation management, data analysis, AI-powered EduTech innovation and sustainability advocacy. Along the way, I led research on gas flaring in Nigeria and decarbonising aviation using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and hydrogen. These experiences influenced my decision to contribute meaningfully to building a sustainable future for our world.
I remember my matriculation day at Oxford, sitting inside the historic 350-year-old Sheldonian Theatre in my sub fusc – Oxford’s traditional academic wear – hearing the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Irene Tracey, officially welcome us into the University of Oxford with kind words. “Welcome to the University of Oxford. It is not easy to earn a place at Oxford. You were chosen to be part of the number one university in the world for a reason…” I felt deeply overwhelmed with gratitude. It was one of those moments when life slows down long enough for you to feel the full magnitude of your answered prayers.
I walked through the cobblestone streets of Oxford afterwards, thinking to myself: “Zinny, this is what dreams are made of.”
I have truly felt at home within a sea of excellence at Oxford. Reading for a degree at one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world has stretched me intellectually, emotionally, and personally in the most beautiful ways. One day, I am discussing energy transitions, climate finance and sustainable economic transitions with globally renowned professionals. Another day, I am spending quiet afternoons inside centuries-old Bodleian libraries surrounded by some of the brightest minds in the world. Another day, I’m dressed in the fanciest gown, attending black-tie and gown Oxford-style traditional formal dinners at one of Oxford’s 45 colleges. Sometimes, I still pause while walking past the Radcliffe Camera or the Bridge of Sighs, just to take everything in.
For a girl who once watched Oxford lectures on YouTube from her kitchen while making dinner back home in Nigeria, there is something deeply fulfilling about now sitting in those classrooms.
But beyond the beauty and prestige, what these scholarships have truly given me is access. Access to world-class education. Access to transformative networks. Access to opportunities larger than myself. Access to spaces where I can contribute my voice, my perspective, and my lived experiences as a Nigerian Girl in STEM.
The MasterCard Foundation Scholarship and the AfOx-Linacre Norman and Ivy-Lloyd Scholarships mean so much more to me than financial support. They represent possibility. For many students like me, scholarships are not luxuries but a big bet on the recipient. They are the bridge between potential and opportunity. To me, receiving these scholarships meant they chose to bet on me, a humbling and joyful nod to my intentionality in striving for excellence in every facet of life.
As someone deeply passionate about community development and sustainable social impact, I never want my success to exist in isolation.
Through my non-profit foundation, Nigerian Girl In STEM, I have spent a decade mentoring girls and advocating for increased access to STEM education, leadership development, and opportunities for young women from underserved and disadvantaged communities. I understand intimately what it means to dream wildly while lacking access, representation, funding, or visibility. That is why every milestone I achieve feels communal. I have received messages from young Nigerian girls saying, “Because of you, I now believe studying at prestigious institutions like the University of Oxford is possible for me too.”
Oxford has taught me that the world is truly my runway! For so long, many of us are conditioned to shrink ourselves before we even begin. We hesitate before applying. We disqualify ourselves before opportunities reject us. We become intimidated by institutions, titles, and prestige. But one of the greatest lessons this journey has taught me is this: dreams are often far more possible than they initially appear.
Sometimes, the biggest thing standing between you and your next level is the willingness to try. Someone has to win the scholarship. Someone has to sit at those tables. Someone has to make history. Why not you?
As I continue my journey at the University of Oxford, researching energy decarbonization, sustainability transitions, climate innovation, policy and sustainable finance, I remain deeply grateful for every step that brought me here: the victories, the failures, the resilience, the quiet prayers, the long nights, and the unwavering belief that my dreams are always valid. This season of my life is one I fondly call my “world-class era,” because I am finally allowing myself to fully embrace the magnitude of my own potential – being truly world-class!
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