Awarded — Mastercard Foundation scholarship
Addressing Food Insecurity in Cameroon: A Bioresource Engineering Essay Example
Awarded 2025 222 words
The prompt
Describe why you've chosen your intended program of study at McGill and how you foresee this program to impact your short and long-term personal career goals.
The answer
2 min read
During my Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, courses like food process technology and quality control engineering revealed the importance of the agricultural sector in Cameroon’s economy, accounting for over 70% of employment. Despite this, concerning statistics from the World Food Program indicate that over three million Cameroonians currently face a food crisis. My hands-on internship in agro-industries provided me with a real-world perspective on how innovative solutions can enhance access to quality food, and prepared me for the opportunity to pursue a Master’s in Bioresource Engineering with a concentration in Integrated Food and Bioprocessing at the prestigious McGill University, to acquire the essential knowledge and skills needed to revolutionize agriculture in Africa.
In the next decade post-graduation, this program will pave the way for a career as a bioresource engineer who develops sustainable food products and processes, increases employment rates, and minimizes agricultural waste. This MSc program will allow me to connect with professors, fellow scholars, and industry professionals who share my passion for agro-innovation, providing opportunities for collaborative projects and research partnerships to solve the food crisis in Africa.
Being the first in my family to obtain a master’s degree, particularly from one of the world’s best universities, will set a precedent demonstrating that dreams are attainable, and creating opportunities for my younger generations to become changemakers in their communities.
Originally published by Shared by Lindsay View original source (opens in a new tab)
Learn from it
What to notice
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The degree choice grows out of a problem the applicant has already encountered
The essay does not begin with McGill. It first establishes an interest in food systems through coursework, then connects that interest to Cameroon’s food-security problem and finally to experience in agro-industries. That sequence makes the MSc feel like a continuation of an existing direction rather than a degree chosen first and justified afterward.
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The strongest paragraph moves from national need to personal preparation
The first paragraph narrows progressively: agriculture matters to Cameroon, food insecurity remains serious, the applicant has seen the sector through an internship, and further technical training is therefore needed. The useful lesson is the order of reasoning. The applicant gives the reader a reason to care about the problem before explaining why they want additional education.
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The career goal is tied to identifiable problems, even though it remains broad
Instead of saying only that they want to “contribute to agriculture,” the applicant names three areas: sustainable food products and processes, employment, and agricultural waste. These give some substance to the proposed career as a bioresource engineer. A stronger version could have narrowed this further, but the essay at least tells the reader what kind of change the applicant hopes their technical career will address.
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The final paragraph introduces a genuinely personal consequence of the degree
Becoming the first person in the family to earn a master’s degree changes the scale of the essay from agriculture in Africa to the applicant’s own family. It gives the degree a second meaning beyond employment or professional advancement: education as an example for younger family members. Because this appears only at the end, it works as a personal layer rather than competing with the main academic argument.