He is Mr. Tony Elumelu. He grew up in a very modest family where his mother struggled like most Nigerian women, selling petty things by the roadside to support the family. He was not the best academic student in high school or the university. When he applied for his first job at the bank he didn’t meet the minimum qualification. He was hired only because he could articulate his vision and impress his interviewers with what he could bring to the bank. Several years later he became the chairman of the bank, lifting the bank to become Nigeria’s global bank. He established the bank, the UBA, in twenty other African countries and four countries outside Africa including the United States, the UK, France, and the United Arab Emirates. Besides the banking sector, he established and became the chairman of several other world-class companies. Thus, through his mentoring and entrepreneurial effort, he created hundreds of thousands of jobs across continents, creating wealth and lifting many families out of poverty including his once-struggling family. By all standards this is success. However, success for me is not just about personal achievements, but creating opportunities for others to thrive. This element of success could be seen in the anecdote shared above. I grew up in a community where education was rather a special privilege than a right. And I have learned over time that success can be a powerful tool to empower others. This scholarship represents more than just financial aid to me; I envision it as a springboard toward achieving my goals of becoming a respected voice in the aviation industry to give back to society opportunities that others can key into and take advantage of. Success is not confined to any one area; success can be explored in several dimensions – short and long terms, personal, professional and social. It is about achieving harmony between personal growth, professional excellence, and social responsibility. In the short term, my goal is to earn a Ph.D. degree in aviation while hoping to gain ample hands-on experience through internships at the airlines and the FAA. Hopefully, the experiences I get will allow me to develop the skills necessary to tackle real-world challenges like stow-away in planes, near-collisions on runways, bird strikes, policy on drones, and extreme turbulence. In the long term, I envision making presentations in conferences and workshops on new perspectives to influence policies on aviation locally and globally. On a personal level, success means becoming the best version of myself by continuing to learn, cultivate emotional intelligence, and maintain balance in my life. For example, I take pride in overcoming challenges such as seeking to obtain another Ph.D. because my first effort was scuttled by the retirement of my major advisor before the defense of my dissertation. Personal success also means maintaining and nurturing relationships with members of my family and extended family as they form the bedrock of my strength and motivation. Professionally, I will define success by my ability to make meaningful contributions in the field of aviation. Knowing that flying and aviation is an industry that impacts most humans, I aspire to innovatively solve a specific problem that will initiate a far-reaching policy change or policy shift in the industry, with prospects of it reverberating globally in the aviation space. Socially, success means using my skills and resources to make a difference in my community and beyond through mentoring and lifting others up. I can achieve this through creating opportunities for others, such as creating job opportunities through recommendations that I make or policies that I influence. As an aspiring researcher and a professional in aviation safety, my goal is to develop innovative solutions to enhance the security of flight operations. Aviation industry issues such as those listed above present the need for advanced research and technological interventions in the field. Pursuing a Ph.D. will provide me with the expertise to address these issues comprehensively. However, the path to achieving this goal comes with significant challenges that I must overcome with the support of this scholarship. Given the specialized nature of my research, accessing advanced tools and proprietary aviation databases presents a significant financial hurdle for me. Furthermore, attending international conferences to share findings and collaborate with experts and stakeholders requires funding beyond my present ability. The scholarship support will contribute in a way to enable me to fund the early stages of my education. Success, in my opinion, is the ability to live a life of purpose, a balanced personal growth, professional excellence, and meaningful contributions to society. It is not just about what I achieve for myself, but also how I use those achievements to positively impact others. This scholarship will definitely contribute to helping me build the foundation that I need to turn these goals into reality.

Being the first in my family to attend college and earning a college degree was not a given; it was an achievement made possible by providence against all odds. This is because although I desired a college degree and worked towards it, a wish alone couldn’t have got me there. Going to college requires the ability of the family to pay for it. However, my family did not have the financial ability to do that. My situation aligned with a common proverb, “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride." Mere wishes alone to be in college would not get me there if my family could not pay. Earning my undergraduate degree was a dream come true with a profound transformative experience that opened doors I never thought existed. It was normal for high school students to discuss what they would love to study in the university, and it was natural to share mine too even though deep inside of me the chances of it being realized were very remote, at least in the short term. So, when it was time for college and everyone else was going, it created a deep void within me that only earning a degree could fill. The hunger for college for me was to be compared to the desire for water to fish taken out of its water environment. It meant self-actualization for me. However, my only option to achieve it was to work, save money, and then go to college. However, my country was undergoing an economic reform termed the “structural adjustment program” at the time. There were no jobs, and I spent several years searching for one. When extended family members could no longer house me in Lagos because I could not contribute financially to housekeeping, I returned to my village. Although, at this point, I was more concerned about my survival, the deep hunger for self-actualization had not left me. Not long afterward, a trainee meteorologist job opportunity in government was circulated among folks from my town who live in Lagos for which I was the only qualified candidate, and I was fetched from the village. This job allowed me to get a first and even a second degree. The opportunity to work for the government opened several doors beyond a first degree. Earning money while in college made it possible to support two of my younger brothers through high school. Although there was none in the family ahead of me to have acted as a role model for me through college, one of my younger brothers was inspired to proceed to university on my heels in a nearby country, fully paid for by me. Being in school while working offered me the privilege of bringing academic know-how to the workplace and taking real-life or field situations to the classroom environment. For me, a master’s degree spurred the desire for a Ph.D. This desire brought me to the United States for a Ph.D. at the University of South Florida, Tampa. Unfortunately, that effort was inconclusive because my advisor retired before I could defend my dissertation hence, I have registered for a Ph.D. in Aviation and Aeronautics. I am applying for the Bold scholarship to get me to the finish line. My journey as a first-generation college graduate in my family has taught me the value of persistence and the role that providence can sometimes play in actualizing dreams. Going to college and pursuing higher degrees has helped me to create the opportunity for someone else to reach their own goal in my family and to pass the baton to the succeeding generations.

As a little child, I lived with my aunt in Port Harcourt, a city in Eastern Nigeria until the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War. Because my uncle drove the soldiers of the break-away republic, I occasionally encountered those “brave men” and admired them greatly in their military uniforms. That was a great inspiration for me to “want to be a soldier when I grow up.” But that was probably the only period of my life that I genuinely desired to be a combatant. I had wanted to be other things in between, but I ended up as an atmospheric and environmental scientist. Looking back, though, I can see how my aspiration for a career has been very nebulous – dictated mainly by the economic climate of my country. However, providence sometimes ruled to direct me where I least expected. On returning to my village after the Nigerian-Biafran war, I was registered in school. But in those days, a Nigerian village was not the place to meet high-flying professionals who would inspire school children. The people we met in real life were local people who were mainly subsistence farmers who carried no aura of respectability. So, the first time I learned that a son of the village had been admitted to the university to study mechanical engineering, whatever that meant, I spontaneously wanted to be a mechanical engineer too. I thought mechanical engineers were responsible for making bombs. But my fixation was not on the bombs themselves because I had seen the damage they could cause, but the ingenuity, the brilliance required to make them, which these engineers seemed to possess. Since I was doing very well academically, I reasoned I possessed the skill to become an engineer. After elementary school, I moved on to secondary school in a city. Although I remained intelligent in secondary school, especially in the science subjects, my interest shifted towards civil engineering. This revised interest was partly derived from the science books we read, and the belief that the skill would offer the opportunity to start my own company. On leaving secondary school, I couldn’t go straight to college because of poverty. I needed to work and save up money to go to university. However, it took several years to get a government job as a trainee meteorologist. My idea of what meteorologists did was limited. However, meteorology turned out to be an interesting field that aligned with my natural skills in science. I went on to obtain two degrees, graduating as the best in both classes. At this point, my career had veered completely from civil engineering to atmospheric science. Working as a meteorologist offered me the opportunity to travel around the world for training, conferences, and workshops as well as publishing. I registered for a Ph.D. at the University of South Florida in Tampa from 2013-2018 and successfully concluded my work with my advisor with a GPA of 3.74. However, my advisor’s retirement just before my dissertation defense truncated my degree. This made me shift my attention towards aviation where I had experience as an aviation meteorologist. I would bring a rich knowledge in atmospheric and environmental science to tackle the problem of severe aircraft turbulence, the menace of bird strikes and drones, and stow-aways in planes which are of grave concern for air safety. Although many children live out their career aspirations, mine has been modified by my special circumstances over time. Acquiring diverse knowledge in atmospheric and environmental sciences will ultimately enrich my proposed work in aviation and air transportation, and a BOLD scholarship will make it achievable. .

After two years of living with some distant relatives while scouting for work without success in Lagos, Nigeria, they asked me to leave since I could not contribute to feeding in the home. I then returned to my village. About two months afterward, one of the sons of my village who worked in government in Lagos advertised for a trainee meteorologist position among our townsfolk who live in Lagos, but none qualified for the position. Then someone remembered that I had passed the requisite subjects at an advanced level and came to the village four hundred miles away to fetch me. Although my entrance into the field of meteorology was accidental, I found it profoundly interesting. I passed as the best student all through my training to a master’s degree in physics. During my career as a meteorologist in the Meteorological Department, I worked for some time as an aviation forecaster, preparing route forecasts for local and international flights at the Airport in Lagos. Because human life was involved in air transportation, I found it an avenue to give my best professionally by ensuring that takeoff and landing atmospheric parameters were checked and cross-checked before passing them to the final consumer - the airlines. Besides occasionally conducting tailored research into any unusual weather conditions over the Lagos area, I also made modest contributions to the science of the atmosphere and environment through publications, conferences, and workshops.             I registered for the Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Policy at the University of South Florida in Tampa from 2013-2018 and successfully concluded my work with my advisor with a GPA of 3.74. Because of my attachment to the Aviation industry, I took a course in Air Transportation (Engineering) and aced it. I have an advanced knowledge of both atmospheric and environmental sciences and wish to harness my skills in both fields to make an academic contribution in an area of aviation that is of utmost concern to the global community.  These are recent incidences of severe aircraft turbulence, the menace of birds and drones, aircraft stow-aways, or near-collision incidents at airports which I am documenting. I am a registered Ph.D. student in Aviation at Liberty University, VA. I am hoping to utilize the BOLD scholarship support to actualize this aspiration to become a known advocate for aviation safety through both sound government policies and operational decisions. Thinking about the opportunities that BOLD scholarship can unlock for me to study the issues pointed out above makes me excited - excited because these are issues that impinge on the very fabric of air safety and many people and organizations will be interested and willing to discuss it. Therefore, these issues have become a personal challenge as I follow them up in the news. Being able to study them and make meaningful suggestions will be a fulfilling life achievement for me. This scholarship will surely empower me to turn my dreams into reality by pushing the boundaries of knowledge in a way that impacts the world.

The Nigerian Civil War broke out as soon as I started elementary school, and it hindered me from going to school for the three years that the war lasted. After completing elementary school after the war, I could not proceed to secondary school until after three years because of poverty. After completing my secondary education, I could not continue to university until after ten years of leaving secondary school. Many years passed, and then after studying for over five years for a Ph.D. in America I was not awarded my degree even after being admitted to doctoral candidacy, a GPA of 3.74, and an approved dissertation. Now, I have enrolled for another Ph.D. after six years of the earlier one. That has been the unfortunate struggle and pattern of my educational life that has been the most challenging for me. But as the challenges themselves have been mysterious, triumphing in them has been more enigmatic. And poverty played the most role in these challenges. Having made a modest contribution to atmospheric science, I wish to push it further in the Aviation industry in my doctoral dissertation as I seek to access every available scholarship to get me to the finish line. My aunt had adopted me and taken me away at an early age to Port Harcourt in southeastern Nigeria. Soon after, the Nigerian civil war broke out. So, we moved from village to village each time the epicenter of the war moved closer. We finally returned to my native hometown after three years when the war was over. But because school fees were paid in both the elementary and secondary school at the time, and because my parents could not afford school fees for all the children, we then took turns to go to school depending on one’s position in the family. This accounted for the delay of three years before secondary school. On leaving secondary school it was obvious I would need to work for some years to save the money to proceed to university. However, it took several years for me to find a job in a government department as a trainee meteorologist. Fortunately, the field of meteorology was very interesting and presented opportunities too. I obtained a first degree in meteorology and a master’s in physics on the job. It further opened doors to travel to conferences, workshops, and training in many exotic locations worldwide. Working at the airport as a meteorologist gave me a deeper knowledge of the synergy between meteorology and airline operations. I had observed, particularly at conferences, that the United States presented the gold standard in many of the policy and technical knowledge encountered in my field. So, it was natural to explore further studies in the United States. I registered as a Ph.D. student in Environmental Science and Policy at the University of South Florida in Tampa from 2013-2018. Although I successfully concluded my work with my advisor with a GPA of 3.74, his retirement just before my dissertation defense truncated my degree. Rather than see this as a setback, I see it as an opportunity to channel the knowledge base that I have built over the years in atmospheric and environmental sciences into exploring areas of overlap of this field with Aviation, particularly in severe turbulence, the menace of drones and birds at airfields, stow-away in planes, etc. As a registered Ph.D. in Aviation and Aeronautics at Liberty University, VA., if granted, this scholarship would have moved me one step closer to contributing to advancement in aviation.

As the Boeing 737-200 series from Abuja made its final descent at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria at about 3:30 pm on Wednesday, October 25, 2000, I hoped that the other two colleagues of mine would be waiting in my office to take their own portions of the $20,000.00 foreign travel money. It was in my small travel-bag-hand-luggage that I was clutching like a priceless day-old-baby. When I arrived at my office, one of the senior colleagues was waiting. Then I opened the bag, pulled out the large brown envelop that was supposed to contain the money, and instead, what I saw was a version of Bible in a Nigerian language. I sank back into my chair literally lifeless. I had never been more speechless, confused, and devastated in my life. Where was the money? The colleague, instead of calming down and sympathizing with me, resorted to threats, insinuating that I had something to do with the missing money. But how was God going to dig me out of this mess? I only became conscious of my surroundings when one of my bosses who had heard what happened entered my office. All the while I was very deep in thought, trying to retrace my steps to determine where the money and the Bible had been exchanged. I recounted the story to her, letting her know that I had seen that same Bible at the Director’s office in Abuja where I received the money. Even though the last thing I wanted to do was to return to Abuja to tell them I had lost the money, that was exactly what she suggested I do; to tell them that someone in his office had stollen the money and replaced it with a Bible. Encouraged by her kind words, I called the Director. I told him what happened and that I suspected his office boy. As would be expected, the boy was defiant, denying he had anything to do with it and dropped the phone. When I told my boss how the phone call went, she asked me to find my way back to Abuja and be the first at the office door the next morning. That was what I did. As an Assistant Pastor in my Church, I knew the power of prayer and understood that only the power of God could rescue me from this seemingly insurmountable tragedy. So, the only thing I did occasionally throughout the night journey back to Abuja was to pray for God’s supernatural intervention. Looking disheveled, without sleep, and tired, I arrived at the Director’s office after over twelve hours night travel by road. Those who knew me and had seen me the previous day could not recognize me and asked if all was well. When the Director arrived at work, he too was taken aback by my presence. Even though he was inclined to suggest that the money may have been stolen at the hotel where I returned to spend the night, I reminded him that I had seen and attempted to read the Bible that was stuffed in my bag in his office only to find out it was in a language that I didn’t understand. Perhaps, convinced that my continued stay could attract an embarrassing gathering around his office, he gave me back the full money. The information I got after my foreign trip was that the office boy that I suspected had bought a car shortly, and while trying to check something in the engine, fire suddenly leaped out from the engine unto his clothes. God had fully delivered me.

The Nigerian civil war broke out just as I started elementary school. So, I couldn’t go to school for the three years that the war lasted. On my return to my village after the war and was registered in school, I was performing better than most of the other kids even though I hadn’t been to school for a long time and without adequate home schooling. This achievement fired up my zeal for knowledge that has not diminished ever since. However, the initial enthusiasm was short-lived because my father couldn’t afford school fees for all eight children at the time. I had to hawk for my mom to raise money for my fees. Students who didn’t pay their fees on time were usually not allowed to take classes, but despite that, I was still one of the best in my class all through elementary and high school. This is largely because I loved school and loved reading. While many of my secondary school classmates, including those who were not as intelligent as I was went straight to the university afterwards, I couldn’t do so because of poverty. However, the passion to return to college literally consumed me. Fortunately, I got a government job as a trainee meteorologist and working in government offered me the opportunity in later years to obtain two degrees, graduating as the best in my classes. Had God not provided this opportunity for me, I would probably have ended up like some of my classmates who were equally very intelligent but never had the opportunity to make it beyond High School. This is very humbling for me and has imparted into me a deep sense of empathy for those taken under in life by circumstances for which they had no control. Meteorology turned out to be an interesting and deeply rewarding career for me. I took a chance to do a Ph.D. at the University of South Florida in Tampa from 2013-2018 and successfully concluded my work with my advisor with a GPA of 3.74. But my advisor’s retirement just before my dissertation defense truncated my degree. USF forced me to exit the program with a diploma that couldn’t fetch me a decent job in the last six years. But this personal tragedy has not quenched my desire to return to school and earn a Ph.D. with BOLD scholarship support. I wish to harness my skills in the atmospheric and environmental science space to try solving a problem in the aviation industry whether related to aircraft turbulence, the menace of drones and birds, or near collision at airports, etc. Working in the field of meteorology and being affiliated to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) offered me the opportunity to travel round the world for training, conferences and workshops and making my own professional contributions as well, particularly in publications. My life experiences have impacted me in no small way in refusing to succumb to failure in anything that I undertake. Every obstacle or opposition has been an opportunity for me to seek other options of getting things done, even to a greater degree and purpose. This is why I am seeking a Bold scholarship for my Ph.D. Not being able to earn a living wage with the diploma that USF handed me after over five years of hard work and maxing out my student loans left me with only one option – to gain skills in another field that impacts the safety of human lives. This scholarship means so much to me and will go a long way in lifting one heavy lifetime burden off my shoulders.

I see acts of kindness, particularly in giving as a virtue, whether in times of abundance, or moments of scarcity. Acts of kindness run in my family, particularly from my mother. I make this assertion because of someone’s eulogy at her burial in Nigeria on Friday, May 18, 2001. He had said among others, that if my mom had one last item and you asked it of her, she would gladly give it to you. Giving and helping people in need comes naturally to me. I see giving and fighting for the weak and vulnerable as a privilege. Many years ago in my early twenties, I was undergoing the West African General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level (A/L) course, and two of my classmates were involved in a fight. The one was much bigger and a bully, and the other much smaller. The other classmates just stood by watching the bully continue to pommel the much weaker opponent, apparently afraid to challenge the bully. When the bigger boys did not challenge the bully, I suddenly jumped in to rescue the weaker boy. That effort cost me two of my upper front teeth till this day. Looking back, I do not regret my intervention on that fateful day. There is really no period of my life that I look back on without seeing someone I have tried to lift, even when it was obvious I needed help myself. As a matter of fact, the only reason why I desire financial comfort is to be able to lift the hundreds of people who approach me for financial support. The Covid-19 shutdown of 2020 revealed how weak the poor and vulnerable can be indeed. The shutdown in Nigeria turned the focus of helpless Nigerians towards Nigerians in diaspora, particularly those who live in America for financial help. Fortunately, the Covid-19 federal assistance package for Americans was handy in trying to help as many as possible among the hundreds of requests in my Facebook account. However, after the Covid-19 pandemic, requests for help from Nigeria became a pattern as though the ones I helped had passed the information to others that there was a willing helper, especially as the Nigerian economy is still in shambles. To this day, no week has passed, and I have not received at least ten requests for financial help. But for privacy issues I would have listed some names with their Facebook identifiers. They range from widows with children, to those with chronic diseases, etc. A particular lady said she lost her husband and had contacted me to ask for money to feed her three hungry children. After having a video call with her to ascertain the authenticity of her claim, I decided to support her financially. Not long after this she called to say that her little boy was playing with a needle, and it got stuck in his mouth and had been taken in an emergency. The practice by hospitals and healthcare providers in Nigeria is that patients must deposit the bulk of their healthcare cost before treatment can commence since there is no functional healthcare insurance system there. In this situation I could not delay because the life of a child was involved. It has, however, become an unfortunate pattern that you become the go-to person for people you have supported before whenever a new need arises. Another pathetic incident involved a lady who had her baby in her hand while she sold a few items by the roadside. She was fainting and the baby was falling from her hand. One of the good Samaritans around happened to be a Facebook friend of mine. She called me, and when I didn’t answer she texted me with the video of the woman to appeal to me for financial support to take her to a nearby hospital. The case of the baby moved me with compassion, and I quickly sent her some money. These are people I had never met. As I am typing this essay, a lady who says she has FIVE children and separated from her husband has been interrupting me with her chat and asking for help. This is what I go through daily. My giving help extends to new arrivals here in America too. The case of Jimmy (not real name) and his family is a case in point. They moved here from the UK. They had nothing to start life in America. I had to buy them a set of dining tables. Additionally, I hired a U-Haul to go bring a set of sofas from a family I knew that was giving theirs away from over fifty miles. I also gave them my Hyundai Santa Fe until I could buy another used car. Besides doing good for others, I never forget the good that others do for me. As a teenager in boarding school, a much senior student delivered me from a bully. A few years ago, I asked around among “Old Boys” of my alma mater for his phone number and called him. He was now retired and didn’t remember me anymore. I transferred some money to him for an act he performed over forty years earlier and he was stunned. I don’t forget acts of good. I have done these acts in my penury since only my wife works. There is probably no one that needs this scholarship money more than me as you will see. I was a registered Ph.D. student at the University of South Florida from 2013-2018 (ID#: U23014045). My major professor retired after approving my dissertation but before defense. USF forced me to withdraw and gave me a diploma that could not give me a job for six years. I am returning to school for a Ph.D. in Aviation at Liberty University (ID#: L35510325) but I haven’t any money to pay by the January 6, 2025, deadline. If you grant me this scholarship, you can rest assured I will be very grateful and will never forget.