The David Edward Dickson Educational Foundation has awarded scholarships to 25 students selected from across tertiary institutions for its latest scholarship programme.
The beneficiaries were selected after a screening and interview process designed to identify students who demonstrated academic excellence and financial need.
Chairman of the foundation and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) and Vice-Chancellor Designate of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Peter Olapegba, disclosed this during the foundation’s scholarship award ceremony on Sunday.
Olapegba said the foundation received more than 600 applications before the screening process narrowed the number to slightly over 100 candidates for interviews.
According to him, the final beneficiaries were selected after the foundation verified their financial circumstances, academic records and eligibility for the scholarship.
He said the foundation also ensured that successful applicants were not already benefiting from another scholarship and had attained the required academic standard.
Speaking at the event, Olapegba said the foundation, established in August 2024 in memory of late David Dickson, the first son of the Edward Dickson family, chose education because of its role in improving lives and breaking the cycle of poverty.
“Education is the bedrock of development. And I’ve also come to realise that if you are from a very humble background, the easiest way to break out of the circle of poverty is to be educated,” he said.
He said supporting students through education was an investment not only in individuals but also in society.
Olapegba said the family decided to honour the memory of David Dickson, their first son who died at a young age, by supporting academically strong students who might otherwise struggle to pursue their education because of financial challenges.
Olapegba urged the beneficiaries to remain focused on their studies and justify the confidence placed in them.
The chairman said the scholarship would continue until graduation, subject to beneficiaries maintaining the required cumulative grade point average.
He also advised the students to avoid conduct that could jeopardise their education, including actions that could lead to expulsion or rustication.
“You should not be a dustbin. You know what a dustbin is. A dustbin receives, but a dustbin does not give,” Olapegba said.
“Rather, see yourself as a river that will give also.”
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He urged the beneficiaries to become ambassadors of the foundation and, in future, support other less privileged students.
Olapegba also called on parents to monitor the academic progress of the beneficiaries and provide the necessary support to ensure they remained focused.
David’s sister, Deborah Dickson, also spoke about his personality and the values that inspired the foundation established in his memory.
She described her brother as a selfless person who believed in giving and making a positive difference in the lives of others.
According to her, the decision to sustain his legacy through the scholarship programme reflected the values David believed in, particularly the importance of helping others and giving people opportunities to improve their lives.
One of the beneficiaries, Abass Oluwapelumi Susan, a medical student at Olabisi Onabanjo University, said she was grateful to have been selected after repeatedly applying for scholarship opportunities.
Abass said her experience demonstrated the importance of continuing to seek opportunities despite previous disappointments.
“You lose 100% shot of something you don’t try at all,” she said.
She urged other students to remain committed to their academic pursuits and continue improving themselves.
Abass also appealed to the foundation to sustain the scholarship programme, saying its impact could extend beyond individual beneficiaries.
“Each person that is impacted is a generation impacted,” she said, adding that supporting students was part of “building a good Nigeria.”
She also encouraged beneficiaries to remain focused on their studies despite narratives suggesting that formal education was no longer important.
Another beneficiary, Alaka Idris, a 200-level Computer Science student at the University of Ilorin, said he regularly applied for scholarship opportunities and prepared the necessary documents whenever he found an opportunity for which he qualified.
Idris commended the foundation for investing in young people and urged it to continue supporting academically talented students.
He described such investment as one that could contribute to economic development and create opportunities for young people.
He also urged beneficiaries to maintain their academic standards and make meaningful contributions to their communities.
“What’s worth doing at all is worth doing best,” Idris said.
Parents of the beneficiaries also commended the foundation for providing financial support to students who had demonstrated academic excellence.
Mrs Adebola Lankwejo, while speaking at the event on behalf of parents, congratulated the beneficiaries and other parents, describing the scholarship as an uncommon opportunity.
She said the students had earned the opportunity through their academic performance and urged them to make the most of the support.
Lankwejo also encouraged the beneficiaries to excel in their studies and extend similar assistance to others when they were in a position to do so.
“David is gone but not forgotten,” she said, urging the beneficiaries to excel and help others in the future as a way of continuing his legacy.
Another parent, Mrs Christy Olatoye, also commended the Edward Dickson family and the foundation’s trustees for establishing the scholarship programme.
Olatoye described the initiative as a laudable one and said more students could benefit if the programme continued to expand.
She urged the beneficiaries to maintain academic excellence and make proper use of the opportunity given to them.
Olatoye also noted that education should go beyond academic achievement to include character and responsible living.
