Growing up in Lagos, Deborah Dele-Obed discovered that entering a public secondary school classroom could feel like an immediate test of survival. The transition from a protective private primary school into an overcrowded public school system was a shock that severely tested her resilience.
“Just imagine yourself in a class of over a hundred students and you have to perform,” Deborah reflects. While it pained her parents to send her there, the experience became the crucible that forged her resilience. “Life is up and down… No matter where you find yourself, you should learn to survive.”
That philosophy was tested again after graduation. Her parents simply could not afford to sponsor two children in higher education at the same time. When the time came to register for JAMB, the funds were not available. She was forced to step back, a delay that was difficult for both her and even one of her teachers, who recognised her potential.
Determined to make productive use of her time, Deborah took a low-paying job as a teacher at a local primary school. For a year, she balanced the emotional weight of a stalled dream with the realities of work. “It taught me how to mature,” she explains. “I learned skills I would not have gained if I stayed at home.”
During her rare free moments, she searched online for opportunities, facing rejection after rejection. Then she came across the application announcement for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Pan-Atlantic University (PAU).
Coming from an underfunded public school, she feared competing against privileged students from elite academies. Yet she applied, and within a week was shortlisted for an interview. As the first candidate to face the panel, her anxiety was palpable, but the experience surprised her. “They made me feel at home. They told us not to act too formal or pretend we knew everything,” she recalls. “Nobody judged me for who I am or where I come from. They accepted me just the way I am.”
Today, Deborah is a student at Pan-Atlantic University, viewing her gap year not as a tragedy but as a detour that led her to an opportunity. “Sometimes bad things happen for good reasons,” she reflects.
The support through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program has done more than fund her degree; it has created new opportunities for Deborah and her family. Deborah is the first person in her family to attend university. “It is a great achievement for the whole family. My parents can proudly say, ‘Yes, my child is in school,’ she shares. With her education fully sponsored in an elite institution where others pay millions, Deborah is already planning how to support her siblings and ease her parents’ burdens in the years ahead.