To achieve success, young people need to be proactive, adaptable, curious, others —Cambridge scholar

Dr Akingbola Adewunmi

Dr Akingbola Adewunmi was recently honoured with the King’s College Quantedge and Rowan Williams Scholarship to pursue a Master of Philosophy in Population Health Sciences at the University of Cambridge. In this interview with IFEDAYO OGUNYEMI, he spoke about how youths can seize numerous opportunities for greater impacts. Excepts;

How would you advise youths on how to prepare themselves for the long envisaged ‘leaders of tomorrow’ role?

I think it is essential that youths prioritise holistic development. Youths should be encouraged to build a strong educational foundation, develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills and cultivate adaptability and resilience. Additionally, promoting a commitment to lifelong learning, ethics, and a sense of social responsibility is crucial for our growth as potential leaders of tomorrow.

Are these the same principles that you evaluate your plans with?

Yes, those are the principles I apply. Networking helped me gain access to very strategic people who gave me recommendation letters, especially my lecturers. Empathy alongside my problem-solving interest helped my transition into the social impact space and my activities therein, and resilience kept me till this stage.

Seeing the feats youths have accomplished in various fields of endeavour, would you say those achievements alone can help get the country to where it is supposed to be?

These feats are a testament to the Grace of God and my accumulated efforts over the past couple of years. But what I think is important is that, the moment everyone of us makes strategic efforts to contribute to the provision of actionable solutions to the inherent problems in our immediate surroundings, alongside significant interventional efforts from the government, then Nigeria begins its journey to ultimate greatness.

Truly, there are many opportunities out there, how can young people take advantage of these opportunities?

I think we young individuals can seize opportunities by being proactive and adaptable, staying curious and open-minded, building a strong network, acquiring relevant skills and knowledge, setting clear goals, and taking calculated risks. Additionally, we should be persistent in our pursuits and seek mentorship or guidance from experienced individuals in our chosen fields.

Many hinge their lack of awareness and zeal to apply for some of these opportunities on their will not to fall victims of inconsistent or shady establishments. Did you harbour this fear when applying for the scholarship that has noe taken you to Cambridge University and how did you guide yourself?

No, I didn’t harbour such fear because I had done extensive research. I have planned to apply for a Masters degree since I gained admission into medical school, and so I had ample time to understand the entire application process.

I simply depended on the extensive research I had done, coupled with being in communication with one or two people especially at the University of Oxford.

You recently won a scholarship to study at Cambridge. Was this a lifelong dream?

Going to Cambridge wasn’t a lifelong dream. However, I always had a certain thought process about Cambridge scholars which was formed as a result of a movie I saw while growing up. Being a Cambridge scholar will help me achieve my long term goal of being a physician-scientist.

How will it help you achieve your goals of being a physician-scientist?

Being a Cambridge Scholar will help improve my research acumen and statistics knowledge geared at helping me to become a good scientist and strategically position me for more opportunities in the future.

What are the things that prepared you for this move to Cambridge?

My social impact journey, with regards to my advocacy against infectious diseases. My quest to delve deeper into enhancing the quality of lives for populations and my inspiration gotten from a movie I saw while growing up (The Mummy) where a reference was made to “Cambridge scholars”.

What is your advice to youths who find themselves in an undesirable point in their careers and are looking to change the narrative and make something for themselves?

I believe that a good percentage of us would continually be in and out of that phase.

However, I kept two strategies; making a detailed and realistic plan as much as possible as well as taking the first step.

Anyone can make a good plan but I realised that not everyone takes the first step. So, my advice is that young people should prioritise making plans and taking the first steps to birthing those plans into reality. Coupled with a tremendous amount of Intentionality, everything falls into place.

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