THE IMPACT OF MY JOURNEY INTO THE GOOGLE AFRICA SCHOLARSHIP 2018
THE SHOCKING ARTICLE?
It was just about the start of a normal day like every other day, but unknowingly to me I would come across the shocking article, and well just like every other time I surfed the internet for scholarships and opportunities, I did that day, and then all of a sudden I saw the shinning light and and my attention was drawn to that catchy headline, “GOOGLE AFRICA SCHOLARSHIP” woah! I exclaimed, google in africa? this must surely worth a read through, so well I didn’t hesitate to click the link and I of course read the whole article to the very end. And that was just how it all began.
THE PREPARATION AND APPLICATION
Then I started preparing, to apply for this scholarship with so much eagerness I had running through my bloods and veins, well as at then my whole meditation was just about “About how this could just be it…”. After a while of writing and preparing physically, mentally and strategically I went for it, so I fired up my browser and I logged on to that same link and followed it up in search of where I could register or fill a form or something similar. Well fortunately after clicking a couple links I got it, and then I filled every single field with so much attention, and that was it!.
THE WAITING
After I was done preparing and applying, I was waiting and waiting, I could almost tell what the time would tell the next second, because I was apprehensive about the result I would get if I would get any?. I kept checking for push notifications from my mail, at that moment I was looking for a notification with a name starting with the letter “G”, and well at every pop-up notification I would fret in awareness!.
THE JUBILATION
Woah!!! at exactly 5:46 PM on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 I got the shocking news congratulating me on the acceptance into the scholarship program, powered by UDACITY, sponsored by GOOGLE, and platform provided by ANDELA, at that moment I knew I was in, and I had a chance to be successful already. So family and friends were all jubilating and cheering when they got to know :).
THE CHALLENGE COURSES
Now I am in, the work starts. I got accepted into the intermediate track, whereas I applied for the beginner track, so that was a very tough one for me, but I always knew that I could do it, because I read many articles from the previous set of scholars and I was really lifted up in my spirit, so I kept on asking for directions when I needed them, but never gave up because I knew that I really was giving in all I had at the moment, sleepless nights and moments of coding and reading hard for a greater course ahead.
THE COMMUNITY
The best thing that ever happend was the peer learning experience, ohh I wondered what I could have done without those loving kind families from the andela learning community on slack. They were the most important part of the challenge course and I really got so much help and assistance from them, as I progressed in my course.
THE CONCLUSION
I could finish the challenge course at exactly three weeks after the start date that was super fast right, yeah I know but I couldn’t have been able to do that, I don’t know what other members tried but I could tell you that I didn’t have a moment of sleep like I told myself when I started, until all this was done, trust me with that kind of determination I had, I could finish anything before time elapses. So well you might be wondering what I was doing those nights? well they were nights of google searches and links clicking yes I did a lot of research as far as I could and well they were really productive nights, those were the mental plannings and strategies I talked about earlier on in this article.
#7daysOfCodeChallenge
Then after I was able to finish it all up, I faced the community and was of great help to alot of people, so they could finish it all up and quick, then several challenges came by and by, and we could solve them together as a group and individually. But then, like every other school, there was an examination , the #7daysOfCodeChallenge was to create a currency converter application, well it was a tough one, but I work with strategies, so I did my few google search, checked out other people codes and similar applications, checked github repos, went on stack overflow, asked questions in the slack community and well after all that I was ready to start , I had less than a week, I completed and submitted at exactly 11:50 pm prior to the 11:59 pm deadline that was given on the day of submission.
That was it, the end…
I wasn’t scared about the results anymore because I knew whether or not I got the Nanodegree Program, I had an awesome experience learning with the community and then during the course of the program I gathered a lot of knowledge, like working with peers, working with pressure and knowing how to make intensive google searches, thinking logically and strategically, working with a team, adapting to hard working conditions and alot more, and I knew that with all of that I could never be stopped now.
Until then I wouldn’t write till I knew whether I would get into the nanodegree program or not, but then I got it today making it the 11th of july 2018, what an experience, and at this point it is no longer a challenge it was the real deal, I am currently taking a career course in becoming a Mobile Web Specialist from the very experts in the industry, what more could one ask for? It was all about learning and doing what I know how to do now.
