Onyema Benigna Ajuogu started the Benignant De Eagle Foundation as a means of giving back and having the opportunity to impact the lives of many. Struggling to overcome so many obstacles in life to achieve her dreams, Onyema wanted to create a vehicle to give back to young people in pursuit of their educational goals.
Growing Up In Poverty
Onyema knows what it feels like to go for long periods of time without eating. Originally from Orlu, Imo state (Igbo tribe) in Nigeria, she grew up in a very poor family where they sometimes didn’t have food for days at a time. They were the poorest family in their community. She lived with her grandmother and younger sister because her single mother at the time had to work in another city just to provide little means to the family, earning less than $1/day . Onyema was a hard working child. At a very young age she helped her grandmother by selling locally made food ingredients just to have money to bring food to the house. One day, Onyema saw a plane fly overhead. This was such a rare occurrence because airplanes rarely flew over this airspace. Ever since she saw her first plane fly overhead, Onyema dreamt of becoming a pilot. However, coming from a poor family without any mentor or role model, she knew she had to make her dreams a reality by her own volition. At about age of 10, Onyema happened to see a picture of the state of Alabama on the cover of a magazine with beautiful flowers. This image spurred her mind for going to another continent to achieve her dream.
After she finished her primary schooling, Onyema knew she had to find an outlet to a better environment where she could have more access to education and information. She went to live with her relatives in a city as house help. This situation helped her complete her secondary schooling. After finishing her secondary education, she began to think of the possibility of traveling to Alabama (a place she had only seen on a magazine) to achieve her dream. At this time, she desired to become a pilot as well as an aerospace engineer. After her secondary school, there was no one to financially sponsor her to further her education in Nigeria. Education in Nigeria is a lot cheaper than the United States to achieve a higher degree, but without any money, Onyema could not continue. Living in poverty is certainly a deterrent, but Onyema had passion. She faced another obstacle when she researched universities in Nigeria. Unfortunately none offered aerospace engineering as a course of study. She had to make her dream come true, so she turned to her grit and determination and was able to miraculously take the TOEFL and SAT exams. She received very high scores on the exams and was admitted to several schools in the United States. Her dream was soon to become a reality because she chose to attend the University of Alabama. Obstacles were no match for Onyema’s grit and determination. At this point, she was about to embark upon her dream of studying aerospace engineering in the United States.
Years of Challenge
With absolutely no money, Onyema had perseverance and resolve that fueled her will to attend college in the United States. It was very rare that anyone from her village attended college, let alone college in the United States. She happens to be the first person from her village to travel to United States for education. With the help of some benefactors, she was able to raise enough money for her flight ticket to fly to the United States to start her studies. But entering the United States from Nigeria was more than culture shock for Onyema, diving into another continent without money on pocket, and not knowing anyone in the country. When she disembarked the plane in Atlanta Airport she didn’t have any more money to continue to Alabama. But she was full of determination and perseverance and she felt that no obstacles could deter her from her dreams. Stranded in Atlanta airport, she had the privilege of meeting some very kind people who gave her bus fare to get to Alabama. Once in Alabama, she was able to secure funding for school from jobs, scholarships, and members of her church.
Her early years in the United States were so difficult. While going to college, she worked three jobs to earn money to pay for school and at the same assist her family back home. She didn’t have enough money for books and had to borrow books from classmates. Growing up in poverty, she understood what it meant to be poor. But the United States is a gateway freedom and the land of opportunity. After her two years at University of Alabama, she left Alabama and moved to Boston to attend Massachusetts Institute Of Technology. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to afford MIT, but ended up spending few semesters at Harvard University, which didn’t offer Aerospace engineering. Onyema excelled in her studies, but while looking for a place to live, she entered a horrific situation that led Onyema to become a victim of severe domestic violence. The situation was peril and put Onyema near death. Onyema was able to reach out to a women’s center that helped her to get back on her feet and finish her schooling at the Florida Institute of Technology. Onyema’s resilience and persistence accompanied her as she overcame one difficulty after another on her journey. She believes in embracing obstacles, growing and learning from the experience so that it ultimately changes you. She is an inspiration to young women who want to reclaim their rights and freedoms.
Her dreams have become a reality and she wants to share her inspirational story to help fuel determination in young girls who have a dream to be a change to society. She is a role model that many young girls can look up to and be inspired by to overcome their challenges in life. Onyema is working on writing her memoirs that detail how she overcame her obstacles and achieved her dreams of become a pilot and aerospace engineer. Onyema holds a Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology. She received an honorary award from the Women in Aviation in 2008.