I want my Oxford feat to inspire girls, women not to settle for less — Cynthia Ohaeri, Oxford scholar, STEM advocate

Cynthia Ezinne Ohaeri was a valedictorian in secondary school and also a valedictorian at the University of Nigeria, where she studied Physics and Astronomy. She makes history as the first Nigerian to study at the University of Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. A STEM advocate and the founder of the Nigerian Girl In STEM, she champions opportunities for girls in STEM. In this interview by KINGSLEY ALUMONA, she speaks about her Oxford experience and her STEM advocacy endeavours.

You were a valedictorian in secondary school and also a valedictorian at the University of Nigeria, where you studied Physics and Astronomy. What is the secret behind your brilliance and intelligence? Is it from your father or mother?

I have always been motivated to challenge existing stereotypes, and this spurred my desire for academic excellence. With parents in engineering, arts, and entrepreneurship, and surrounded by my adorable five sisters who are all fiercely ambitious and soft, courageous women, I would say being excellent comes naturally to me. I was raised to see excellence as a consequence of effort and of being willing to tap into your core potential, in spite of your personal limitations. Having been brought up to value the substance of impactful work, self-belief, and giving love in a world where inequality and deprivation reign supreme, I see excellence as a social currency — a guarantee that I can take up my place in the world and advocate for the United Nations Sustainable Development (SDGs) goals I am most passionate about. One unique thing everyone who encounters me will allude to is this: Cynthia will give her absolute best to everything. The outcomes are simply a natural consequence.

You mentioned in your LinkedIn profile that you are the first Nigerian to study at the University of Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. How did you accomplish this feat?

Someone has to get in. So, why not me? ‘My Oxford Dreams’ is the title of the folder on my personal laptop, half a decade before I even put in my application. It was my museum of social and academic proof on why I deserved my spot at one of the world’s most prestigious universities. It also contained the two-way “Whys”: why I believed I had earned my place at Oxford, and why the University of Oxford was the right environment to nurture my light and become part of my broader success story and legacy.

My personal mantra, “Confident and unafraid”, affords me the courage to take on less-trodden paths, because I genuinely believe my life goals are worth more than my biggest fears and limitations. So, I feel the fear, throw on my favourite pink dress, one or two words of affirmation, and do it anyway. I also grew up as a fancy pink girl watching Elle Woods (played by Reese Witherspoon in ‘Legally Blonde’) live out her wildest dreams in the Arts at Harvard. Surrounded by the most amazing women who inspire all my successes — my incredible mom and my five sisters — I had the confidence to live out my wildest Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) dreams at the University of Oxford.

In my words: “Someone has to get into this most-applied-to course at the University of Oxford, even with its less than four per cent acceptance rate anyway… So, why not me?” Also, why not make history for my country while at it? Why not live out my wildest dreams while inspiring a generation of STEM excellence — young girls and women who can look to me and say: Cynthia Ezinne Ohaeri did this, so I can!

Everyone who knows me personally knew I would study at the University of Oxford. So, I did just that, keeping my childhood promise to myself and living out a shared childhood dream I had with my beautiful best friend (of blessed memory).

How did you come to study and afford the tuition at Oxford? And how would you describe your Oxford experience?

I have been fortunate to receive the prestigious MasterCard Foundation Scholarship at the University of Oxford as a MasterCard Foundation Scholar. I am also a proud recipient of the AfOx-Linacre Norman and Ivy-Lloyd Scholarships at Linacre College (one of the 43 colleges at the University of Oxford, where I am a member). I was also shortlisted for the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarship at the University of Oxford.

I would describe my Oxford experience as living in my “world-class era”: from purchasing my sub fusc (traditional Oxford matriculation wear), to sitting in the 350-year-old Sheldonian Theatre and being matriculated by the amazing Vice-Chancellor, Professor Irene Tracey, graced by her words: “Welcome to the University of Oxford. It’s not easy to earn a place at Oxford. You were chosen to be a part of the number one university in the world for a reason…”; to leisurely making my way down the famous Bridge of Sighs, past the historic Radcliffe Camera; to attending my first “formal dinner,” a black-tie and gown Oxford-style traditional dinner, clad in the most beautiful black and white dress; to attending my first lectures at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, being taught by world-class academic legends including Professor Sam Fankhauser, Professor Myles Allen, Professor Cameron Hepburn, Dr Ben Caldecott, Dr Quentin Coutellier, Dr Sonia Hoque, Dr Radhika Khosla and a host of amazing academics who, before now, I would only watch on YouTube in my kitchen while making myself a jolly dinner and whose publications I read as a favorite nerdy pastime, now standing right before me; to studying across the 23 Bodleian libraries at the University of Oxford. As a “fancy nerd,” as I delightfully call myself, my predominant thoughts were: “Hey Zinny (my nickname)… This is what dreams are made of.” I truly felt at home within a sea of excellence.

Three core lessons I learned at Oxford: Excellence will forever be an invaluable social currency. My dreams are valid. The world is my runway.

As a physics and Astronomy graduate and a petroleum engineering professional, why did you decide to take up postgraduate studies in the field of sustainability, enterprise and the environment?

I am all about lasting legacies. Sustainability ensures present-day depletion does not impede the next generation’s socio-economic prospects and ensures efficient mitigations and adaptations are put in place to preserve lives and livelihoods. I have had the absolute privilege of my life to have first-hand experience contributing my ingenuity across the energy spectrum: onshore and offshore energy prospecting, development and management, as well as downstream sustainable energy access.

Studying at the University of Oxford and leading research in the field of net-zero sustainable energy and sustainable finance avails me opportunities to develop critical systems-thinking skills and strategies to lead sustainability-focused initiatives within global enterprises, multilateral organisations, and governments. Through this, I hope to help drive innovation towards a low-carbon future. Doing this within a world-class institution, surrounded by the most brilliant minds, ensures I can contribute my ingenuity to a world better led, better served, and better governed.

You regard yourself as an entrepreneur and business strategist. Why is that? Do you own or run a business?

Aside from my conventional career in STEM across the energy and aviation industries, I own a global fashion brand, Zinnysworld, a subset of the RobertasLuxe chain, which I run with my five amazing sisters. I am also a professional home decorator, co-designing home construction projects from start to finish, and I co-run an interior décor enterprise, WowLifestyle, with my lovely sister Jennifer Obatta (née Ohaeri). I also work as a brand and public relations (PR) strategist, media curator, and project manager for AI-powered innovations at Hello Dreams, an Edtech and digital enterprise I co-founded with my incredible sister Pamela Ohaeri.

In your engagements as a STEM advocate, what would you say are the major barriers hindering girls from having access to basic STEM education and careers, and how can these barriers be addressed?

Gender bias, societal stereotypes, socially-constructed poverty, and systemic marginalisation remain major barriers to girls accessing STEM education and future career opportunities. To address these barriers, I serve through my non-profit foundation, Nigerian Girl In STEM, to inspire young girls who are frozen by fear and social inequity to pursue their brilliant dreams in STEM. I lead STEM education, period poverty alleviation, mentorship, and personal development programmes, as well as fundraisers for scholarship grants through the Nigerian Girl In STEM Trust Fund. I encourage everyone to lead as a force for good, inspiring positive change within their sphere of influence. My forever message to every young girl and woman remains: Shine, thrive, believe in yourself, and put in the work. Never settle for a life you don’t want because of fear. Not on my watch.

In your bio, you regard yourself as ‘confident and unafraid’. Why is that?

If not now… then when? If not me, then who? This is a personal mantra I grew up saying with my best friend (of blessed memory). It was a fail-safe system that allowed us to develop the confidence to reach for the stars while feeling worthy. It also allowed us to embrace and cherish our museum of failures. How can I lose in a world where I came with nothing? So yes, I am fearless. I feel the fear and do it anyway. I am bankable. There is nothing I cannot figure out. I trust myself, and I am deeply blessed to have an incredible support system.

How would you advise young Nigerian girls aspiring to be like you, especially those interested in STEM?

Shine! That dream was placed in your heart for a reason. Within you lies all the talent you need to resonate at your highest frequency. Tap into it. The Universe is waiting to align in your favour. Please never let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do or become. You deserve a lifetime where you’ve lived out your full potential. Even if you are a soft “pink” girly-girl like me, I promise you will thrive in STEM if you put your heart into it and find joy in the simplest, most mundane things, anchored to your personal “ikigai.”

The world is your runway. The world deserves your light. Please shine bright. May all your beautiful dreams take flight. As a Taylor Swift girlie, I live my life in eras. This era of my life is called: “Zinny is World Class.” I am excited to continue sharing my light with the world in my world-class era.

How do you manage the stress associated with your many commitments? And where do you see yourself and your career in five years?

I am a multi-potential creative. This means my brain genuinely functions best when I work across my diverse interests and talents. So if I am having a bleak season in my STEM career, my artistic and social impact endeavours compensate for that and give me the dopamine to power through, and vice versa. I also have the absolute privilege of sharing my light and leaving my footprints engraved in the sands of time through social-impact initiatives at the Nigerian Girl In STEM Foundation, which I founded over a decade ago. Leveraging my ingenuity to lead this social-impact initiative and community of over two thousand young girls and women keeps me grounded and fills my life with abundant joy.

In the next five years, I will thrive as a world-class, sustainability-focused global professional and an overall happy woman.