History was made recently when a 400 level student of Mass Communication, University of Jos, Mr Matthew Ohiani Adeiza emerged second place winner of the 2009 edition of the Culture of Enterprise International Student Essay Contest. He thus became the first student from an African university to come that far in the essay contest. The only winner from Africa before, now was Garreth Bloor from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, who came fourth in the 2007 edition.
The award ceremony was held April 6, 2010 at the Harvard Club of New York where Adeiza personally received his award. Other winners were Matthew Shaffer of Yale University who came first, Rachael Bishop of Mercer University came third, Sean Quigley of Brown University was fourth while Austin Lipari of Catholic University came fifth.
The annual international essay contest is put together by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, ISI, a non-governmental organization committed to academic excellence and holistic education based in Delaware, United States. The essay is open to students from any country of the world, and entries for this edition came from all the six continents. Students sent in their entries to the postal address on the essay website at www.cultureof enterprise.org.
The essay contest is on the topic, “Can Character and Communities Survive in an Age of Globalization?” The contest is designed to encourage students to reflect on the relationship between free enterprise and the institutions and mores that define a particular culture.
Adeiza, who is the current student editor of Unijos Echo Online, had previously won some national essay competitions among them the 2005 edition of the Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition for secondary schools in Nigeria, The Nigerian Stock Exchange Essay Competition for Undergraduate Students in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria as well as the 2009 Omololu Falobi Essay Competition for Journalism Students in Nigeria.
In his reaction, Adeiza expressed joy at the latest award and attributed his successes to the grace of God. He noted that hard work backed with determination and discipline has ensured his success. He advised Nigerian students to remain focused as success is not just a product of available facilities but how they are properly utilized.
By Samuel Olaniran
