A Nigerian doctoral student at Yale University, Oluwatobi Oso, has won Don Kaplan Dissertation Award from the Botanical Society of America (BSA), securing a $10,000 grant to support his ongoing research in plant biology.
Oso made the announcement in a post on his Facebook page, describing the award as a major milestone in his academic journey.
He wrote, “I’m glad to be this year’s recipient of the Don Kaplan Dissertation Award by Botanical Society of America (BSA), the $10k that came with it is my biggest so far!
“Getting one research grant/funding/award every year was a goal I set for myself when I started my PhD at Yale in 2021. I have since won 8 research awards, 3 travel awards, and some other prizes – the previous always higher than the last, and I hope it continues that way!
“Beyond the fact that money is super important for research, I’d also usually apply for these things in the hope that if I get it, it can inspire many others like me from low income backgrounds and underdeveloped/developing countries, first-gen or even a parent juggling family with studying for a degree.
“But somehow, I limited myself to posting about it just on WhatsApp – not fair enough! Sometimes, I don’t even post it because I worry I won’t be able to individually respond “thank you” to every “congratulations.”
To motivate others, he shared what he called his five most popular personal mantras.
“This is me inspiring you and others like me with the five most popular lines that get me going in everything,” he said, listing them in order of determination: “‘I can,’ ‘Just do it,’ ‘Try,’ ‘Na person wey shoot shot dey score,’ and ‘Na person wey give up f*** up.’”
“The littlest of things inspire me the most (ask my wife Ayantola Mary Oso),” he added with humour. “And I hope that you were at least pumped by the time you read mantras 1, 2, 3.”
