![](/sites/default/files/CHIAMAKA%20UWALAKA-Web.jpg)
![](/sites/default/files/CHIAMAKA%20UWALAKA-Web.jpg)
Major:
Public Health
Other Academic Interests:
Pre-med
What drew you to the Forty Acres Scholars Program?
Honestly, when I first received the word to apply to the Forty Acres Scholarship Program, I may have overlooked it. In the midst of all the other things I was doing, I didn't realize the mistake I made in not recognizing that FASP was so much more then a scholarship, it was a community. I started to count my blessings when I was chosen as a finalist and this was where I established that FASP was a priority and an amazing opportunity for me to be able to truly explore my interests with no burdens, and frankly it seemed to good to be true. I talked to so many people about all the alumni support and the connections within their cohorts and and I knew that this could benefit me so much more then what I anticipated. The same thing I kept hearing over and over again was how many people were prepared and willing to help me become successful and enjoy my time at and beyond UT Austin, and this, I knew was a gift that would keep on giving.
What makes your scholar cohort unique?
I have to start with "you just have to be there" in order to truly encompass what sets out cohort apart from the rest. I think it may be how all of us are so different, yet we think so similarly, or our unparalleled humor with each other, but it just seems like we've all known each other for forever. We've already begun to establish jubilee goals for our cohort and reveal our true personalities, which not many strangers can say about each other so quickly, and I am so excited for what this familial feeling will allow us to do together as we work towards changing the world and bettering ourselves. And like I mentioned, I do really have to emphasize that truly we might be the funniest cohort.