3rd Quarter, 2006
Engineering Scholarship Winner
Sikiru Adesina
“I was born in West Africa, Nigeria on October 20th 1989. I was born in Ogbomosho village in Oyo state but my family soon moved to the city of Lagos. My father’s name is Wale Adesina, he is my hero. I moved to America in 2001. I now hope to go to college to pursue a career in Engineering. I am a person who is goal oriented and refuses to fail. I hope that my drive will aid me in accomplishing my goals like it has done for me in the past.”
A Portion of Sikiru’s Winning Essay:
Ever since I was about eight years old, I have been attracted to the field of engineering. For me to accomplish my dream of becoming an engineer, trying to build robots and things of that sort, I need to complete college. Once I get my degree I will ensure that I put it to good use. I was born in Nigeria, a country in West Africa, and was fortunate enough to be one of the kids that got toys. My father would travel to the United States multiple times and be gone for up to a year staying for only a month, but whenever he came back he would bring toys. I was always fascinated by how they worked. Being in a country where the electricity was rarely on also gave me some free time. I asked questions but no one really had time to give me answers. They were either busy or not educated enough. It was part of life. Not everyone had an education, and I accepted that fact.
In school I wouldn’t dare ask a teacher in fear of getting hit for some form of insubordination, and if I ever asked I asked my English teacher in the 5th grade, Mr. Amegbe. He was a soft spoken teacher and one that seldom used his cane. He didn’t have any answers either. But I still wanted to know why my toy car moved when I pressed a button.
One day I decided to break open one of my toys; it was a remote control car. I hid it from my mom so she wouldn’t scold me for breaking something worth money. However for some reason she didn’t mind when she found out. I observed the car’s insides and found rotors. There were wires sticking out. I cut the wires and hooked them up to a battery and they moved. From then on I knew I had found my calling. Every time someone asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I would simply say be an engineer. I have never changed my mind.
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Also I watched Dexter’s Laboratory, and as a child it enticed my imagination. Dexter was a cartoon character that made robots. He made me want to make robots and invent things. I would joke around with my brother that I would invent cool gadgets and become rich and build a factory in the shape of Dexter. To me anything was possible. I started to acquire more rotors and connect them to longer wires and batteries. I would then find a way to fit everything inside a cut up Kellogg’s box. By the time I was finished I would have an excuse for a toy car. I destroyed my toy cars to make new ones. I’d then take the car to school and show it of to my friends. They soon got into it, but the passion left them quickly. After a month no one felt like breaking their toys, but I still continued. I still do it today.
Later on in the future, when I was about eleven years old, I tried to make my “toys” more complex. I’d add solar panels my friends allowed me to buy from them. To me it was fun. So you can imagine the joy I had when I came to this country, America. Fast forward a couple years to the year 2006, and I am taking physics. I got to put things together in labs and learn about circuits amongst many other things and get some answers. I need to continue to find answers and be allowed to create things. During a lab in school I finished my experiment ahead of the class.
During the extra time that was left to me I decided to try and invent something. It was only a joke, but I soon took it very seriously. I got the idea to make a boat. A dual boat: a speed boat and a sail boat connected. I drew out the plans and things I needed. I then presented it to my teacher, and he was impressed. He wants to enter the finished work in a contest.
Engineering is a part of me, I even talk to my friends about it, trying to collect ideas of things they would like to have invented. Apparently I have aspirations and to meet them I need to attend the best college available to me. I have an idea of a boat that does not need gas. I researched online about turbines and how they work. I think it is very plausible to create boats that don’t need gas. They would be able to power themselves just because they are on water. The idea is interesting, but I can only truly be able to put it to work if I learn more and acquire a degree. So far I have a foundation but like everything else there are complex parts needed to bring my vision to life. These things are out of my reach right now.
I would also like to help my parents with the expenses they might suffer for paying for my college life. To them and many Nigerians that associate with my family, I am supposed to be the one that goes to college and accomplishes tremendous things. I have tried my best, even becoming salutatorian of my junior high school. I understand that college demands a huge amount of money. This is why to relieve my parents who have tried their hardest to give me a good life, and brought me to this country, I am writing this essay to the Straightforward Media Engineering School Scholarship in hopes of winning.
Once I get my degree I will try my very best to invent new and clever products to help improve the progress of society. I hope to invent cheaper but better products. I am trying to avoid cliches but in this case one holds true, so pardon me for saying, “I will try to leave my society better than I met it.” This is a phrase pounded in our heads as Townsend Harris High School students.
I have lived in Nigeria where I have seen suffering that no one would imagine. People see poverty on the television, but I saw it near my home, driving down the streets or trying to get something to eat. A great impression is left on you when a man, with no legs, old enough to be your father crawls up to you on a skate board and begs you for money. I can only hope to improve the life of people like this some how and in some way. This is why I have vowed to be successful and achieve this through my passion; so I can help my people and everyone else. Hence, charity is another thing I hope to use my degree for after it gets me a fruitful job.
Curiosity is simply the main reason I developed a passion for Engineering. I wanted to know how and why things behaved the way they did. It has been a life long dream to pursue this field. Postsecondary education is very important to me because it is the only way for me to practice my passion of engineering. This scholarship will help me attend a college. It will allow me to grasp the field and put it to good use. I have ideas, and I would like to see them realized. A degree would not be put into better use than if I got it. Once I get the degree I will work very hard to improve the lives of people. Thank you for reading this and considering to help me with my endeavors.
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