Scholarship Essay

Attaining success early in any attempt is what most persons crave. Nevertheless, having an impact in an environment or organisation where one is domicile is mostly commendable for me, as it elicits the idea of one being influential and able to use both man and other resources to meet set goals and targets collectively and individually, this is the mark of a true leader. In retrospect, my most achievement is not personal success but accolades and being used as an exemplary figure to others through the various teams, events, tasks, positions I have led and handled.

My leadership exploits started in 2010 after being appointed as the Chief Whip of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers Students Wing, University of Port Harcourt Chapter and later the Electoral Council Coordinator, I was enthusiastic, but it was eventually doused with the threat of possible election rigging, this challenged me to inspire my team to adopt other creative and secure modus operandi of using technology and the University Security System.

The height of it all was in 2014 <b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;

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EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">when the Secretariat and the Final-Year class appointed and elected me the</span></b> Male Leader, Land and Building Committee Chairman and the Final-Year Class Leader of the religious body I belonged to. Stressing was the Land and building project as I was also writing my thesis and other academic work at the same time. The quest to raise funds to secure the land required that I had to travel every weekend to meet with sponsors and potential financiers. Thus, it was necessary I delegated duties to other team members and ask for feedback from them. Funds for the land development was problematic, such I visited the male folk group led by me, they cleared the land and dug the foundation trenches, finally the Final-Year class who had other class project options were able to support the building project after much solicitation, they provided the funds needed for the materials and labour charges for the foundation and DCP.

The reason for all these achievements is because I consistently challenged myself in the face of dynamic difficulties. I always asked myself ‘what is the cause of this difficulty’, followed by options and the potentials they hold, sometimes I seek the advice of more experienced persons. In all I came out of my comfort zone, did not complain, but do what I am able to do at that point, this became obvious as those who followed were constantly observing and eventually followed my footsteps, the effects and results were usually beyond my expectations.

This has given me the confidence in my places of work to always be serious with my responsibilities, face and handle challenges as they present themselves and has made me understand that leadership is about accomplishing your targets and meeting your obligations as much as holding your team together, influencing and developing others.