Undergrad Personal Statement

I grew up in a third world country that prioritized rapid industrialization above environmental sustainability with the end result of highly unacceptable levels of toxic industrial wastes and effluent emissions. Seeing the thunderous cheers and jubilation from oil and gas engineers when an oil well is perforated and extraction begins without considering the negative effects this has on the environment, is quite alarming. I always wondered if the multiple oil spills, or casual gas flaring, was due to the incompetence of the engineers on the job, or just an unavoidable side-effect of oil and gas production. Although the oil industry has undoubtedly contributed immensely to the growth and development of Nigeria, I grew more and more interested

As found in my transcripts, my grades were average in the initial years of undergrad because of conflicts with the Academic Staff union and the Nigerian government that kept all students out of school coupled with the loss of my grandparents (who raised me) in that same period affected me emotionally, and therefore took a toll on my grades upon returning to school. Moreover, amid the long break, I took some software training courses; like PROSPER software for production optimisation and PETREL for reservoir modelling and simulation. Albeit the grades I had, I trust the hardships made me more grounded and the time-off empowered me to gain some skills I would some way or another utilize in the future. As time passed by, I improved tremendously, shown in my 4th and 5th years, giving me the confidence to teach in non-profit tutorial classes to my classmates. Having also been appointed right from my third year as the Secretary of Academic Resource Team of Chemical Engineering, a specialized committee of 17 members designated for academics and research amidst the students, my desire to learn by teaching and research has strengthened over the years. The day-to-day interactions I had with my team members coupled with my tenure as Technical Advisor of Xavier Design Group helped hone my interpersonal and communicative