First-Class Mathematics Graduate Who Went Viral After Sharing Photos Of Himself Farming, Bags PhD Scholarship In US

First-class Mathematics graduate turned farmer, bags fully funded PhD scholarship in US:

A first-class mathematics graduate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has won a fully funded PhD scholarship in US.

The first-class mathematics graduate identified as Emmanuel Nworie, won the scholarship after a photo of him plowing the ground in Ebonyi state due to poverty and lack of a platform to tap into his knowledge went viral on social media.

Glad to have reported Emmanuel Nworie's story starting from his discovery by @MTforChange and @Jarushub till the point of bagging a fully funded PhD at a top varsity in the US. Kudos to @thecableng for promoting such positive stories. #Journalism https://t.co/LeRI2nH6bY

— Olatunji Haleem (@haleemOlatunji) March 3, 2021

Speaking on the hard times he’s faced in an interview with The Cable, the first-class graduate said ;

“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.”

Nworie 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 United States.

He received three offers from universities in the southern part of the United States. Taiwo, who made the announcement, said:

“Today, I am pleased to announce that Emmanuel Chinweuba Nworie has accepted a fully-funded offer to study for his Ph.D. 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 United States.

“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!”