Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Great Ife Alumni Association, Dallas branch, United States of America (USA) has awarded 52 students of the institution with a N10.4 million scholarship for the 2023/2024 academic year.
The event which took place at the Oduduwa Hall of the university had in attendance top members of the university management, led by the vice chancellor, Prof. Simeon Bamire.
The president of the USA chapter of the association Adeolu Esho, said that the Dallas project is a give-back and support for their beloved alma mater targeted to aid indigent students with financial constraints in pursuit of their academic dreams.
Providing insights on the criteria for the selection process, Esho said, “We commenced the process in August 2023 and the beneficiaries were selected based on set criteria ranging from their outstanding academic performance, fascinating application and strict adherence to the laid down instructions, justification of financial needs, personal branding ability and the quality of their written essay.”
The president of the awarding branch, Great Ife Alumni Association, Dallas, Dr.Tunde Adeyemo, explained that many of their members in the Dallas branch identified with the struggles of the younger students who are pursuing their education at OAU at a critical time like this.
“We understand that there are many students who, though exceptionally brilliant, may need some help financially to make it through their degree programmes. We were here and still understand the peculiar challenges,” he said.
Adeyemo explained that the beneficiaries of the scholarship award are to be tagged “Dallas Scholars” and are expected to be good ambassadors of the Dallas OAU Alumni branch. “We will give out scholarships every academic session to indigent students who are diligent and who excel academically,” the president added.