By Adesina Soyooye
Even though she attended a private Secondary School, it was not one of those where parents need to break banks before they pay the fees.
Her school, Princeton College, is not one of those that brag, and its name is not heard Nationally. In fact, not even in Lagos, as such.
It is neither located in Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki, nor Banana Island, amongst other exotic environments, including Abuja’s Maitama or Asokoro.
It is located in Surulere, a ‘non-showey’ area of Lagos.
Yet, from there, 17- year old Victory Morenike Yinka- Banjo shone like diamonds. She did the unprecedented. She hoisted Nigeria’s flag high before the world. And now, Nigeria is bowing at her feet, and so is the World. And there is a near-stampede by parents and their children to take more than a passing interest in her school.
Victory is not struggling to apply for Visas to any country – America, Canada.
The best schools in those countries are scrambling for her. And they are doing that with millions of Dollars.
Why?
The teenager is a genius. So, the best schools are pursuing her with full scholarship worth five million US Dollars. And she just sits down at home, overwhelmed, pinching herself to confirm it’s true, and wondering which one to choose.
Her brain, and diligence, and discipline, and seriousness did the magic she is luxuriating in. And even her parents are overwhelmed.
Victory is a 2020 Opportunity Funds Scholar. The World’s 20 high profile institutions in the US and Canada offered her admission. 17 of them offered full scholarship.
She deserves every offer. The Schools include Harvard University, Stanford University, or Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She intends to study Computational Biology, on full scholarship in any of those schools.
In her school, she was the Senior Prefect (Head Girl). She was also the President of the Students’ Representative Council.
And she graduated in style.
In her West African School Certificate Examination, she passed all nine subjects in A1. In Cambridge IGCSE, she put in for six subjects, and passed the six in A*s (Distinctions). In SAT, it was 1540/1600 and in IELTS, it was 8.5/9.0. Victory was also, the world’s best candidate in the Nov/Dec 2019 Cambridge IGCSE, English as a second language. How come the Federal Government did not take note?
Victory’s team won Technovision Girls’ Mobile App Building Challenge, 2019, as the best team in Africa. The teenager is an Ambassador, Mastercard Foundation x Data Science Nigeria Learn At Home Project.
Of a Yoruba (Father), and Igbo (Mother) parentage, it is quite surprising that no Nigerian medium discovered and celebrated her till CNN did.
Both her parents are walking tall, and bouncing, as if on springs, and so is her proud School – Princeton College, Surulere, Lagos.
Following is the CNN celebration of the Nigerian teenager who “waoed” the World.
Nigerian Teen Gets 19 Scholarship Offers Worth More Than $5 Million From The US And Canada |The Source
By Nimi Princewill, CNN
One Nigerian teenager must feel like she has the world at her feet after receiving 19 full-ride scholarship offers from universities across the United States and Canada.
Victory Yinka-Banjo, a 17-year-old high school graduate, was offered more than $5 million dollars’ worth of scholarship money for an undergraduate program of study, according to admission documents and estimates of financial aid awards.
“It still feels pretty unbelievable. I applied to so many schools because I didn’t even think any school would accept me,” Victory told CNN, relishing her academic prowess.
Born to Nigerian parents, Chika Yinka-Banjo, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Lagos, and Adeyinka Banjo, a private sector Procurement and Supply Chain Executive, Victory was given potential full scholarships from the Ivy League schools, Yale College, Princeton University, Harvard College, and Brown University.
The teenager told CNN that her multiple scholarship offers “have made me stand taller, smile wider, and pat myself on the back more often.”
Other US scholarship offers included those from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Virginia.
In Canada, Victory was offered the Lester B. Pearson scholarship from the University of Toronto and the Karen McKellin International Leader of Tomorrow (KMILOT) scholarship from the University of British Columbia.
“Their admissions processes are extremely selective,” Victory added. “They only accept the best of the best. So, you can imagine how, on a daily basis, I have to remind myself that I actually got into these schools. It is surreal!”
Academic strides
A senior prefect during her time in high school, Victory rose to national prominence in late 2020 after she scored straight As in her West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Months earlier, the Nigerian teen had been rated as the “Top in the World” in English as a second language (speaking endorsement) by the University of Cambridge International Examination (CIE). Victory aced the Cambridge IGCSE exam — acquiring A* in all six subjects she sat for.
Victory told CNN her remarkable achievements are borne out of hard work.
“They have made me truly feel proud about the hard work I have put into several areas of my life over the years. I am slowly beginning to realize that I deserve them,” she said.
The teenager remarked that her multiple scholarship offers “have made me stand taller, smile wider, and pat myself on the back more often.”
Victory said she hopes to study Computational Biology. However, she is still weighing up her options on which school to choose, having been wooed by many prestigious institutions.
“I am still doing research on some schools that are at the top of my list, like Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Duke, Johns Hopkins, and just trying to compare and contrast all of them thoroughly,” she told CNN.
An inspiration to Nigerian youth
Victory’s mother, Chika, says her daughter’s story could inspire other young Nigerians.
“It is noteworthy that she is not one of the Nigerian-Americans who often get into these schools because of their advantage of being born and bred in the US. She completed her secondary school here [in Nigeria]. It would be great if her story can be used to inspire the youths of our country,” she told CNN.
Victory credits her academic success story to faith, parental guidance and discipline. She currently spends some of her free time tutoring other University admission seekers — through the radio — on key subjects such as Math, English language, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
