700 Students to Benefit From U.S. Mission’s Education'USA Opportunity Funds

By Juliet Jacob Ochenje

Approximately 700 Nigerian students are benefiting from the U.S. Mission’s EducationUSA advising services in 2023, including 73 Opportunity Funds recipients.

This is just as the U.S. Embassy in Abuja and the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos hosted pre-departure orientations for hundreds of Nigerian students who will soon depart for study in the United States.

EducationUSA’s Opportunity Funds Programme assists highly qualified students who are likely to be awarded full financial aid from U.S. colleges and universities, but lack the financial means to cover their pre-U.S. arrival costs such as application fees, test fees and international airfares.

The Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, Rolf Olson, while speaking at the US Embassy in Abuja, said he believes the students will enhance Nigeria’s infrastructure and society as future doctors, entrepreneurs, engineers, politicians, and so much more by sharing their knowledge and skills with their own communities in Nigeria upon their return.

The Public Affairs Officer, Joseph Kruzich, also advised the students during the event in Lagos, to “take advantage of all the opportunities American universities have to offer and become actively involved in the many organizations and clubs that will enrich their experience as a foreign student.”