It is a new $100,000 award to be given to one exceptional
student that has made a real impact on learning, the lives of their peers and
on society beyond.
Akintewe, a 22-year-old student at Adekunle Ajasin
University, Ondo, Nigeria, was selected from over 3,500 nominations and
applications from 94 countries around the world.
The Varkey Foundation launched the Chegg.org Global Student
Prize earlier this year, a sister award to its $1 million Global Teacher Prize,
to create a powerful new platform that shines a light on the efforts of
extraordinary students everywhere who, together, are reshaping our world for
the better.
The prize is open to all students who are at least 16 years
old and enrolled in an academic institution or training and skills program.
Part time students as well as students enrolled in online courses are also
eligible for the prize.
Chegg.org has partnered with the Varkey Foundation to create
the new Global Student Prize.
Dan Rosensweig, CEO & President of Chegg, said: “While
many stakeholders are busy debating, these students are busy doing.
Congratulations to all the finalists of the Global Student Prize. They truly
are the changemakers our world needs.”
Lila Thomas, Head of Chegg.org, said: “Oluwadamilola and all
our finalists represent the courageous and hardworking students all over the
world that are fighting for their future. Despite the challenges of COVID, this
generation of students have shown the kind of resilience and creativity that
give us all hope as we confront the towering challenges ahead.
“The Global Student Prize has been launched to shine a light
on their stories and listen to their voices. After all, it is their dreams and
their talents that will light the path to a better tomorrow.”
Akintewe was inspired by her humble background to always be
committed to improving the lives and empowerment chances of girls and women in
Nigeria.
She launched LetGirlsLead to provide mentorship and support
for secondary school girls in her Ondo home state.
Working with youth organizations, they teach girls
entrepreneurial, financial and digital skills, so that they may become
self-sufficient, and she set up a scholarship list to help them apply for
places at universities and gain further qualifications.
She also launched Project Rebirth, which uses
entrepreneurial action to deliver financial equality and inclusion for low
income and rural women in Ondo.
They take business development and financial literacy
classes and learn sustainable and eco-friendly fashion design. The 140 women
who have been impacted by the Project also get loans to buy sewing machines and
launch their own businesses.
Using her growing confidence and connections, she messaged
an Instagram model who she noticed supports social impact projects in the
global south, pitched Project Rebirth to her and secured a $2,000 grant to
deliver the training project to young women participating and directly
benefiting.
In 2020 her team secured a $3,000 grant from Ford to expand
implementation to women in agriculture and food production while combating
global scarcity and hunger.
As a former victim of gender-based violence, Oluwadamilola
has herself dealt with mental health issues and trauma and is promoting a wider
social change through gender advocacy.
Reacting to the alarming rate of sexual violence in Nigeria
during the pandemic lockdown, with social distancing the new normal she
leveraged social media to raise awareness, founding the Forbidden Topics
Facebook platform, now with over 1,100 followers, to amplify female voices
against social injustices and break the silence.
Volunteering with many global organizations, Oluwadamilola
also secured a $2,000 Wishwall Foundation grant to provide internally displaced
girls in Northern Nigeria with free digital skills in coding with python,
JavaScript, graphics design and digital marketing as income generation to
further improve their lives.
Oluwadamilola has won a string of awards, praise and
recognition for her work and achievements, including 30 under 30 Changemaker
2021 from Opportunity Desk Impact Challenge as well as the Inaugural winner of
the Samantha Singh Memorial Award 2021 from the ONE Campaign and the 2021 Peter
Drucker Global Challenge for Leadership.
Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation, said:
“Congratulations to Oluwadamilola for reaching the final 10. Her story clearly
highlights the importance of education in tackling the great challenges ahead –
from climate change to growing inequality to global pandemics. It is only by
prioritizing education that we can safeguard all our tomorrows. Education is
the key to facing the future with confidence.”
The other top 10 finalists for the Global Student Prize 2021
are Amisa Rashid from Kenya, Elliott Lancaster from the UK, Jeremiah Thoronka
from Sierra Leone, Kehkashan Basu from Canada, Lamya Butt from the UAE, Matine
Khalighi from the US, Mirko Cazzato from Italy, Ana Julia Monteiro de Carvalho
from Brazil and Seema Kumari from India.
Applications and nominations for this year’s Global Student
Prize opened on Tuesday 2 February 2021 and closed on Sunday 16 May 2021.
Students who applied for the Global Student Prize are being assessed on their
academic achievement, impact on their peers, how they make a difference in
their community and beyond, how they overcome the odds to achieve, how they
demonstrate creativity and innovation, and how they operate as global citizens.
The winner will be chosen from the top 10 finalists by the
Global Student Prize Academy, made up of prominent individuals.
If students were nominated, the person nominating them was
asked to write a brief description online explaining why. The student being
nominated was then sent an email letting them know they had been nominated and
inviting them to apply for the prize. Applicants were able to apply in English,
Mandarin, Arabic, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian.
The winner will be announced on November 10 via a virtual
ceremony taking place at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris.
To join the conversation online follow @cheggdotorg