Case Studies of CVs, Personal Statements, and

Letter to Supervisors.
Bonus- Writing Sample.
______________________________________

Hi, let me show you the original copies of CVs, Personal statement (letter of intent or statement of
Purpose) and letter to supervisors used by students like you who eventually got scholarship and
admission in Canada.

Candidate 1: Dr. Linda Iheme

See the email I sent to potential Supervisors. Watch how I altered the last Paragraph to suit the
individual professor. Also, look at the arrangement of the content and paragraphs in general. These may
not fit what I gave you perfectly, but remember, at this phase, I was still learning. So, use what we
discussed in class as the benchmark.

*************************************************************************
Dear Dr. Catherine Mah,

Greetings from Sub-Saharan Africa. I am a dentist from Sub-Sharan Africa who wishes to be a renowned
healthcare researcher. I wish to resume September 2017
at Memorial University of Newfoundland to study master’s in applied health services research. I hope to use
the knowledge I will get from this masters to train local researcher here is west Africa to be able to conduct
quality research whose findings can be beneficial in local policy making while helping them to become
competitive in international research. I wish to share this dream with you, perhaps your advice and
encouragement could help me more.

I was the best graduating student from High school and at the university level, I broke academic records in
my faculty by having results that the school haven't gotten in 40years. I have been involved with organising
Doctors and other healthcare workers to carry out over 56 free community healthcare outreaches/programs
for the rural poor in my country and neighboring countries. I also volunteer for several healthcare Non-
Governmental Organisations in Nigeria.

Consequent to my experiences from serving the less privileged health wise, I discovered that to truly make
huge impact in those communities, the implementation of favourable health policies cannot be over
emphasized. Hence my desire to become an internationally recognised and vibrant investigator who will
effectively communicate research to decision-makers such that it is used in health policy development. Doing
this master will help me grow in my career as a community Dentist

My research interests include Health Promotion, Global Health, Health Policy and how healthcare researchers
are using their research findings to help in policy making. After studying your profile, I was happy to discover
that you are into Health Policy, Policy Framing and Health Promotion. Please grant me the rare privilege of
being my supervisor during my graduate study starting From Fall 2017. I understand that your schedule is
very tight, but I am excited to let you know that I have the special quality of producing effective results under
minimal supervision. kindly consider my request.

I hope to hear from you please.

Dr. Linda Iheme.

********************************************************************************************************
Letter to another supervisor

Dear Dr. Traverso-Yepez,

Greetings from Sub-Saharan Africa. I am a dentist from Sub-Sharan Africa who wishes to be a renowned
healthcare researcher. I wish to resume September 2017
at Memorial University of Newfoundland to study master’s in applied health services research. I hope to use
the knowledge I will get from this masters to train local researcher here is west Africa to be able to conduct
quality research whose findings can be beneficial in local policy making while helping them to become
competitive in international research. I wish to share this dream with you, perhaps your advice and
encouragement could help me more.

I was the best graduating student from High school and at the university level, I broke academic records in
my faculty by having results that the school haven't gotten in 40years. I have been involved with organising
Doctors and other healthcare workers to carry out over 56 free community healthcare outreaches/programs
for the rural poor in my country and neighboring countries. I also volunteer for several healthcare Non-
Governmental Organisations in Nigeria.

Consequent to my experiences from serving the less privileged health wise, I discovered that to truly make
huge impact in those communities, the implementation of favourable health policies cannot be over
emphasized. Hence my desire to become an internationally recognised and vibrant investigator who will
effectively communicate research to decision-makers such that it is used in health policy development. Doing
this masters will help me grow in my career as a community Dentist

My research interests include Health Promotion, Global Health, Health Policy and how healthcare researchers
are using their research findings to help in policy making. After studying your profile, I was happy to discover
that you are into health promotion. Please grant me the rare privilege of being my supervisor during my
graduate study starting From Fall 2017.I understand that your schedule is very tight, but I am excited to let
you know that I have the special quality of producing effective results under minimal supervision. kindly
consider my request.

I hope to hear from you please.

Dr. Linda Iheme.

Letter to another supervisor

Dear Dr. Mark Oremus

I am a young dentist from Nigeria. In many ways, I’m departing from the norm and routine of
dental practice in Nigeria by developing an early and robust appetite for healthcare research in a
setting where such is almost an exclusive reserve for senior practitioners. I have observed keenly,
and can say that the routine practice here is merely a repetition of ‘how it is done’, and no strong
research efforts (especially from younger medical and dental practitioners) are visible towards
discovering new methods and solutions to the overwhelming healthcare problems of patients in
many hospitals in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries. Given that I intend to teach
in our higher institutions in Africa, I believe that my enthusiasm for research is appropriate and
deserves to be roundly developed to enable me train others who may not be opportune to study in
a renowned institution as University of Waterloo. This is why I am applying to study Masters in
Public health and Health Systems which starts Fall 2017 . I hope to use the knowledge I will get
from this masters to train local researchers here in West Africa to be able to conduct quality
research whose findings can be beneficial in formulating local policies while helping them to
become competitive in international research.

There are a few qualities and skills I possess that make me believe that I am very competitive
and should consequently be given a chance to study at University of Waterloo. First, I was the
best graduating student in my high school and was also the best graduating dental student in the
university. In both high school and university, I graduated with academic results that no student
before me had ever graduated with – in the case of the University of Benin, since 40years of the
Dentistry department. Furthermore, as a volunteer for healthcare non-profit organizations, I have
been involved with organizing Doctors and other healthcare workers to carry out over 56 free
community healthcare outreaches/programs for the rural poor in my country and neighboring
countries. Being a social media Influencer in areas of health and youth leadership with
cumulative organic followership of over 20,000 persons, I have been using social media to
promote health and the results have been increasingly overwhelming.

In close association with my experiences from serving the less privileged health wise, I
discovered that to truly make huge impact in those communities, the implementation of favorable
health policies cannot be over emphasized. Hence my desire to become an internationally
recognized and vibrant investigator who will effectively communicate results of evidence-based
research to decision-makers in order to enable them make informed health policies and
healthcare development. To achieve these robust goals, it is my utmost conviction that
knowledge and skills that would be gained from this Master’s program at University of Waterloo
which is thesis based, would tremendously help me to develop my career as a community
Dentist.

My research interests include (1) Health Policy (2) Epidemiology (3) Social Determinants of
Health. Knowing that the most significant health challenges are those facing entire population, I
want to know how healthcare researchers are using their research findings to help in policy
making while being mentored on how to investigate the links between the biological, social,
economic and environmental factors that contribute to health. I would be honored to have the
opportunity to be supervised and mentored by you, given your work in these areas.

I will be very happy to receive your positive reply,

Dr. Linda Iheme.

Letter to another supervisor

Dear Dr. Kelly Skinner,

I am a young dentist from Nigeria. In many ways, I’m departing from the norm and
routine of dental practice in Nigeria by developing an early and robust appetite for
healthcare research in a setting where such is almost an exclusive reserve for senior
practitioners. I have observed keenly, and can say that the routine practice here is
merely a repetition of ‘how it is done’, and no strong research efforts (especially from
younger medical and dental practitioners) are visible towards discovering new methods
and solutions to the overwhelming healthcare problems of patients in many hospitals in
Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries. Given that I intend to teach in our
higher institutions in Africa, I believe that my enthusiasm for research is appropriate and
deserves to be roundly developed to enable me train others who may not be opportune
to study in a renowned institution as University of Waterloo. This is why I am applying to
study Masters in Public health and Health Systems. I hope to use the knowledge I will
get from this masters to train local researchers here in West Africa to be able to conduct
quality research whose findings can be beneficial in formulating local policies while
helping them to become competitive in international research.

There are a few qualities and skills I possess that make me believe that I am very
competitive and should consequently be given a chance to study at University of
Waterloo. First, I was the best graduating student in my high school and was also the
best graduating dental student in the university. In both high school and university, I
graduated with academic results that no student before me had ever graduated with – in
the case of the University of Benin, since 40years of the Dentistry department.
Furthermore, as a volunteer for healthcare non-profit organizations, I have been
involved with organizing Doctors and other healthcare workers to carry out over 56 free
community healthcare outreaches/programs for the rural poor in my country and
neighboring countries. Being a social media Influencer in areas of health and youth
leadership with cumulative organic followership of over 20,000 persons, I have been
using social media to promote health and the results have been increasingly
overwhelming.

In close association with my experiences from serving the less privileged health wise, I
discovered that to truly make huge impact in those communities, the implementation of
favorable health policies cannot be over emphasized. Hence my desire to become an
internationally recognized and vibrant investigator who will effectively communicate
results of evidence-based research to decision-makers in order to enable them make
informed health policies and healthcare development. To achieve these robust goals, it
is my utmost conviction that knowledge and skills that would be gained from this
Master’s program at University of Waterloo which is thesis based, would tremendously
help me to develop my career as a community Dentist.

My research interests include (1) Health Promotion (2) Health Policy. I want to know
how to use research to formulate solutions to the development of assessment and
surveillance systems to improve management and accountability of health promotion
programs. I would be honored to have the opportunity to be supervised and mentored
by you, given your work in this area.

I will be very happy to receive your positive reply,

Dr. Linda Iheme.

Letter to another supervisor

Dear Dr. Ellen MacEachen,

I am a young dentist from Nigeria. In many ways, I’m departing from the norm and routine of
dental practice in Nigeria by developing an early and robust appetite for healthcare research in a
setting where such is almost an exclusive reserve for senior practitioners. I have observed keenly,
and can say that the routine practice here is merely a repetition of ‘how it is done’, and no strong
research efforts (especially from younger medical and dental practitioners) are visible towards
discovering new methods and solutions to the overwhelming healthcare problems of patients in
many hospitals in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries. Given that I intend to teach
in our higher institutions in Africa, I believe that my enthusiasm for research is appropriate and
deserves to be roundly developed to enable me train others who may not be opportune to study in
a renowned institution as University of Waterloo. This is why I am applying to study Masters in
Public health and Health Systems which starts Fall 2017 . I hope to use the knowledge I will get
from this masters to train local researchers here in West Africa to be able to conduct quality
research whose findings can be beneficial in formulating local policies while helping them to
become competitive in international research.

There are a few qualities and skills I possess that make me believe that I am very competitive
and should consequently be given a chance to study at University of Waterloo. First, I was the
best graduating student in my high school and was also the best graduating dental student in the
university. In both high school and university, I graduated with academic results that no student
before me had ever graduated with – in the case of the University of Benin, since 40years of the
Dentistry department. Furthermore, as a volunteer for healthcare non-profit organizations, I have
been involved with organizing Doctors and other healthcare workers to carry out over 56 free
community healthcare outreaches/programs for the rural poor in my country and neighboring
countries. Being a social media Influencer in areas of health and youth leadership with
cumulative organic followership of over 20,000 persons, I have been using social media to
promote health and the results have been increasingly overwhelming.

In close association with my experiences from serving the less privileged health wise, I
discovered that to truly make huge impact in those communities, the implementation of favorable
health policies cannot be over emphasized. Hence my desire to become an internationally
recognized and vibrant investigator who will effectively communicate results of evidence based
research to decision-makers in order to enable them make informed health policies and
healthcare development. To achieve these robust goals, it is my utmost conviction that
knowledge and skills that would be gained from this Master’s program at University of Waterloo
which is thesis based, would tremendously help me to develop my career as a community
Dentist.

My research interests include (1) Health Policy (2) Health promotion. l want to know how
healthcare researchers are using their research findings to help in policy making while being
mentored on how to use research to formulate solutions to the development of assessment and
surveillance systems to improve management and accountability of health promotion
programs. I would be honored to have the opportunity to be supervised and mentored by you,
given your work in this area.
I will be very happy to receive your positive reply,

Dr. Linda Iheme.

This is the CV I sent to the Supervisor that accepted me for masters. Look at it and also see the CV I used
for my PhD application 1 year after. Model the recent CV instead of this first one, Though I got full
scholarship with both CVs.

***********************************************************************************

Name: Iheme Linda

Sex: Female
Nationality: Nigerian
Contact Address: 13 Obama Street, East Wood, Lagos, Nigeria
Email: lindaihemexxxx@yahoo.com
Mobil Phone: +2347037xxxx50

School Attended
• Studied Dentistry at University of Benin, Edo, Nigeria. (2008-2015)
• Did elective in Clinical Dentistry at University of Ghana Dental School, korler-bu, Ghana.
(October-November, 2013)
• Studied Monitory & Evaluation Fundamentals of Global Health Programs at Global Health e-
learning Centre. (January 2014)
• Secondary education at Government Girl’s Science Secondary School, Kuje, Abuja. (2003-2006)
• Secondary education at Government Day Secondary School, Gwagwalada, Abuja. (20000-2003)
• Primary education at Gado Nasko Science primary School, Gwagwalada, Abuja. (1994-2000)

Funding/Awards
 • Awarded Scholar of the Class of 2015, by the 2015 graduating class of College of Medical
Sciences, University of Benin.(2015)
• Awarded Reverend Tony Akinyemi Scholar by Reverend Tony Akinyemi Foundation for my
excellent Academic results (scholarship, 2012-2015)
• Awarded Chevron Agbami Scholar, by Chevron Group of Companies for my excellent Academic
results (scholarship 2011-2015)
• Awarded Federal Government Scholar, by Federal Government of Nigeria for my Excellent
results and involvement in community building ( Scholarship, 2010-2015)
• Awarded Six(6) distinctions in Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology, Oral Biology, Pharmacology
and Oral Surgery by School of Dentistry, University of Benin (2008-2015)
• Awarded Anofi and Grace Guobadia scholar by Anofi and Grace Guobadia Foundation for my
Excellent results (scholarship 2011)
• Awarded Best Graduating Student by Government Girls’ Science Secondary School (2006)
• Awarded Overall Best Student, Radio Nigeria Quiz by Federal Radio Cooperation of Nigeria
(FRCN,2005)

Leadership Awards
• Awarded Associate Fellow, the Royal Commonwealth Society (2014-2016)
• Given Award of Excellence; by Student Union Government of University of Benin (2014)
• Named African Youth Role Model, by Ignite The Youth Africa
• Named Young Person of the Month, by Opportunity Desk (July 2014)
• Awarded Most Enterprising Student at Top35-under 35 CEO Awards for training university
students on Social Entrepreneurship (2013)

Fellowship
• Selected as principal participant of The Study of United States Institute for Student Leaders
(SUSI) on Social Entrepreneurship at University of Connecticut. Sponsored by the United States
Government (June-July 2011)

Professional Experience
• Paid dental Internship at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Ikeja (January-December
2016)
• Paid volunteer at Pro-Health International; Healthcare Non- Governmental Organization
(October-December 2015)
 • Monitored and evaluated free health outreach programs at Charles-Loto Healthcare
Development and Research Organization (July 2013-Date)

Professional Membership
• Member of International Association of Dental Research. (October 2016- Date)
• Secretary of Edo state Chapter, Nigeria Medical Women Association (MWAN). (2015-2016)
• Member of Nigeria Dental Association. (2015-Date)
• Member of Nigeria Medical Association. (2015-Date)
• Vice President of Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Student. (2013)

Volunteer/Community Work
• Volunteered for a community Healthcare Outreach Organized by Pain Care, Non-Governmental
Organization (2016)
• Co-ordinated several (56) free medical and dental Outreach Programs to Oluku, Uselu, Ugbowo
and other communities in Edo State, Delta and Kaduna state all in Nigeria under the Benin
University Dental Students’ Association (BUDSA)(2008-2016)
• Conducted awareness campaigns on breast cancer, endometriosis, asthma, free HIV testing and
counseling under the Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students.(2011-2016)
• Managed recruitment of voluntary blood donors for the Sick at University of Benin Teaching
Hospital Blood Bank (2013-2015)
• Volunteered for a medical and dental outreach program organized by Raphashands Foundation
at Mamfe, Cameroon, sponsored by MECA-USA (2013)

Conferences Attended
• Represented Nigeria as a youth panelist at World Health Summit (WHS), Berlin, Germany. (2013)
• Attended Nigeria Association of Dental Public Health Annual Conference (2014)

Research works
• Conducting research on knowledge, attitude and practice of health workers towards infection
control in LASUTH to be able to compete at the upcoming Unilever Hatton Research
Competition-Junior Category.(2016-date)
• Assisted in data collection on a research topic; The oral manifestation of Diabetes
Mellitus.(2016)
 • Assisted in statistical analysis of data collected for a research topic; knowledge, attitude and
practice of health workers on oral health at primary health centers in Lagos.

Below is the CV for PhD application……(ignore the wide gap below)

Linda Ogechi Iheme
xxxxxx@uwaterloo.ca

50 Christ Avenue North, Guelph Ontario, Canada. Y2J 5H6.

Education

2017 – 2019 MSc. Public Health and Health Systems

School of Public Health and Health Systems
University of Waterloo
Supervisor: Prof. John Hirdes

2008 – 2015 Bachelor of Dental Surgery

School of Dentistry
University of Benin

Additional Trainings Received

2018 Instructional Skills Workshop, CTE, University of Waterloo.

2018 Student Facilitator Training, Student Success Office, University of Waterloo.

2018 Online Preceptor Training, Centre for Extended Learning,

University of Waterloo.

2017-2018 Fundamentals of University Teaching program, Centre for Teaching

Excellence (CTE), University of Waterloo.

2017 Teaching Online – Advanced skills for graduate students, MyGradSkills.ca.

2017 Teaching Online – Basic skills for teaching assistants, MyGradSkills.ca.

2014 Monitory & Evaluation Fundamentals for Global Health Programs,

Global Health e- learning Centre.

Leadership Positions at University of Waterloo

2018-2020 Member of Board of Governors (Graduate Student Representative)

2018-2020 Member of Executive Committee, Board of Governors

2018-2020 Member of Senate (Graduate Student Representative)

2018-2020 Member of Senate Committee on Finance

2018 Blogger for GRADventure.

2018 (Spring) Graduate Facilitator for new students transition at Student Success Office.

2018 (Fall) Team lead for graduate orientation at Student Success Office.
Academic Prize
2018 Research Innovation Award by ACUTENET at Canadian interRAI Conference
-for a study that showed the effect of oral health on mental health.

Scholarly Awards
2015 Scholar of the Class of 2015, College of Medical Sciences, University of Benin
2012 -2015 Reverend Tony Akinyemi Scholarship
2011-2015 Chevron Agbami Scholarship
2010-2015 Nigerian Federal Government Scholarship
2011 Anofi and Grace Guobadia Scholarship
2011 Fellowship-The Study of United States Institute for Student Leaders (SUSI)
2006 Best Graduating Student, Government Girls’ Science Secondary School, Kuje.
2005 Overall Best Student, Radio Quiz, Federal Radio Cooperation of Nigeria

Leadership Awards

2019 Student Leadership Award by Graduate Students Association, University of --------

--------------Waterloo

2014-Present Associate Fellow at the Royal Commonwealth Society.

2014 Award of Excellence by Student Union Government of University of Benin.

2014 African Youth Role Model by Ignite the Youth Africa.

2014 Youth Ambassador at African Union.

2014 Opportunity Desk’s Young Person of the Month (July).

2013 Most Enterprising Student by Top35-under 35 CEO Awards.

2011 Best Volunteer at Tiebe Kitchen

Research Experiences
2018 - Present Research Assistant, School of Public Health and Health Systems

2015-Present Research Assistant, United Nations Online Volunteering Services.

2016 Research Assistant, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos
• Collected Clinical data for a study on the oral manifestation of
Diabetes Mellitus.
• Performed statistical analysis for a study on knowledge, attitude and
practice of health workers on oral health at primary health centers,
Lagos.

Teaching Experiences
2018 Teaching Assistant, University of Waterloo
Canadian Health Care System, under the supervision of Joanna Sinn PhD c.

• Evaluated written essays and provided feedback to students.

• Proctored examination
• Facilitated discussions on discussion board and managed grade
book on the online learning platform.
•
2018 Online Sessional Instructor, Partners for Health Canada.
Global Health, With a team of 6 instructors

• Developed course curriculum

• Graded students assignment and provided constructive feedback
• Facilitated discussions on discussion board and managed grade
book on the online learning platform.

2017 Teaching Assistant, University of Waterloo

Work and Health, under the supervision of Dr. Philip Bigelow
• Assisted students to understand course content and assignment
expectations.
• Provided Feedback to students on course assessments.

Employment History
Year Position Faculty/Dept./School Institution/Organization

2019 Research Assistant Sch. Of Public Health University of Waterloo

2018-2019 Teaching Assistant Sch. Of Public Health University of Waterloo

 2017 Dental Officer Dental Clinic Rainbow Dental Clinic

2016 Dentist School of Dentistry Lagos State University Teaching

Hospital

2015 Public Health Health Outreach Pro-Health International

Educator

Pre-Publications
Iheme,L. and Hirdes, J. The feasibility and acceptability of self-report assessment
tool (Check-Up) among older adults from diverse clinical population in Ontario,
Canada. 2018-2019 (in progress).

Iheme,L and Hirdes, J. Chewing problem is associated with depression in older

community-residing home care clients: result from interRAI assessment in
Ontario, Canada. 2017

Saari,M., McArthur, C., Iheme, L., Northwood, M., and Sheiban, L. Prevalence and
characteristics of Camatose Patients in Canada. 2018

Poster Presentation
Iheme, L. and Hirdes, J. (May 2018). Chewing problem is associated with depression
in older community-dwelling home care clients: result from interRAI assessment in
Ontario, Canada. InterRAI National Conference, Calgary, Canada. (The poster won
the Research Innovation Award for the conference.)

*************************************************************************************
*************************************************************************************
*************************************************************************************
Now take a look at my personal statement

My PhD application Personal statement to UWaterloo.

I am a dentist with focus on public health. While in dental school, I became very involved with
community development work which involved providing free health care services to people in rural
communities. I discovered that most of the persons in the communities are older adults and many of
them depend only on charity organisations for health care. Then I said to myself “perhaps, if I can collect
some data during these community-based programs, I can analyse the data, translate the findings and
inform policy change that could bring about sustainable healthcare services to these communities”. It
was then I realised that my dental background was more clinical oriented and has not prepared me for a
research related career.

However, my goal is to become a research expert, so that apart from doing ground breaking research, I
can coach younger researchers from west Africa to enhance their research capacity. In line with my goal,
I look forward to teaching at the university level in west Africa, so that I can groom undergraduates to
become research oriented since this is presently not the norm. I am also presently developing my online
teaching capacity to enable me to teach at any part of the world through the internet.

In pursuit of my goal, I enrolled for Master of Science (MSc) in Public Health and health Systems, at
University of waterloo under the supervision of Professor xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx. During my MSc, I prioritised
equipping myself with various research methodologies. Hence, I took courses on statistics,
epidemiology, health informatics and qualitative analysis. Eventually, I developed more interest for
quantitative research. I went ahead to write a research paper with quantitative methods, presented it at
a pan-Canadian research conference and won the research innovation award for that conference in
2018 summer. Presently, I am working on my thesis which is focused on testing the feasibility and
acceptability of a self-report assessment tool for community-dwelling older adults.

I am interested in doing a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Aging, Health and Wellbeing under the
supervision of Professor xxxxxx xxxxxx. In particular, I will be involved in international research that will
champion the establishment of routine self-report assessments for older adults who reside in the
community, to aid early detection of their health decline. I will work with older adults from Canada and
Nigeria. The data collected during this project will be analyzed and the findings will help inform policies
that will benefit older adults. In addition, doing the PhD will give me the opportunity to perfect my
quantitative research skills as I hope to take advance courses on quantitative methodology.

I have learnt a lot about research, but I need a doctorate for me to become an expert in aging research. I
am excited to start the PhD. It is worth it.

*************************************************************************
My PhD application personal statement to u of T. (Note, there was no reference to a
professor because U of T did not require me to secure a supervisor before applying for the
PHD)
****************************************************************************

My Dental Journey

Several years ago, when I was about to start high school, it was uncommon for families in my
neighbourhood to send their girl child to high school, but due to my exceptional academic result
in primary school, my uncle gave me a scholarship to high school. At this point, I had double
motivation to study hard; my personal love for education and the desire to make my uncle proud.
I graduated from high school as the best student in science and went on to study Dental Surgery
at University of Benin, Nigeria, were I graduated with six distinctions, a feat that had never been
accomplished since the school was established 43 years ago.

While in dental school, I had my focus on public health and was very involved with community
development work which involved providing free health care services to people in rural
communities. I was involved with organising Dentists, Medical doctors and other healthcare
workers to carry out over 56 free community healthcare outreaches/programs for the rural poor
in 3 low income countries (Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana). Consequent to my experiences from
serving the less privileged health wise, I discovered that to truly make huge impact in those
communities, the implementation of favourable health policies cannot be over emphasized.
Hence, my desire to become an internationally recognised and vibrant investigator who will
effectively communicate research to decision-makers such that it is used in health policy
development grew.

In pursuit of my goal, I enrolled for Master of Science (MSc) in Public Health and Health
Systems, at University of waterloo, Canada. During my MSc, I prioritised equipping myself with
various research methodologies. Hence, I took courses on statistics, epidemiology, health
informatics and qualitative analysis. Eventually, I developed more interest for quantitative
research. I went ahead to write a research paper with quantitative methods on how chewing
problem contributes to depression, presented it at a pan-Canadian research conference in Calgary
and won the research innovation award for that conference in 2018 summer. Presently, I am
working on my thesis which is focused on testing the feasibility and acceptability of a self-report
assessment tool for community-dwelling older adults.
My PhD research project would focus on creating a system that will enable private practice
dentists to contribute de-identified clinical dental data to a national dental database in Canada.
This is very important because it will promote population based dental research, which will
greatly inform dental policy development from evidence-based perspective. I noticed this gap
when I reached out to the organisation in charge of health data in Canada (CIHI- Canadian
Institute of Health Information) to access oral health database for Canada and I was shocked to
find out that they had data for all other aspects of health, except oral health. Hence, I want to
create a bridge that will link clinical oral health data nation wide, make it accessible to
population based oral health researchers, to provide evidence for dental policy development.
Doing this combined PhD and specialty training will help me grow in my career as a community
Dentist by equipping me with the necessary skills and needed credentials to serve as an expert in
Dental Public Health.

Now see samples from other students

Candidate 2

Personal statement
Several years ago, when I was about to start high school, it was uncommon for
Nigerian families to send their girl child to high school, but due to my exceptional
academic result in primary school, my uncle gave me a scholarship to high school.
At this point, I had double motivation to study hard; my personal love for education
and the desire to make my uncle proud. I graduated from high school as the best
student in science and went on to study Dental Surgery at Lagos State University
Dental School, Lagos, Nigeria, were I graduated with Bachelor of Dental Surgery
(BDS Hons.); a feat that had never been accomplished in the past 34 years history
of the university. I had not only met the towering requirements for an Honors
Medical Degree from the dental school, but also got qualified for a spot in the
institution’s hall of fame as the best graduated student from the College of
Medicine.
Besides my academic highs, I have in the past demonstrated pristine leadership
qualities. While serving as an Honorable member of the Students Parliamentary
Council, I alongside a team of youth leaders kick-started and nurtured a movement
tagged ‘The Lagos State University Students Union Leadership Conference Series’
aimed at aiding Nigerian Youths in leading purposeful lives; currently in its fifth
year, it boasts of affecting over 10, 000 youths since its inception, empowering
them with leadership and entrepreneurial skills. I have volunteered for over 50
medical and dental outreaches, most of which I had organized alongside my peers,
mainly for underprivileged communities, during my service years as President and
Vice President of Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students.
My exposures to dire health conditions in underprivileged communities while
volunteering and organizing health projects endeared me to the knowledge and
application of Public Health. I was further compelled to pursue a Thesis based
Masters in Public Health during my involvement in research activities and building
of local Health policy guidelines when the debilitating Ebola virus epidemic plagued
Nigeria and Neighboring West-African nations, under the aegis of the Society for
Quality Healthcare in Nigeria (SQHCN) of which I am a certified member. I learnt
the importance of statistics and evidence-based research in making quality
decisions which rejuvenated the failing health state of my country.
Pursuing an MSc in Public Health would empower me towards my career goal as an
Public Health Consultant, my research interest is in understudying inequities in
health plaguing low-income settings like my country and I hope to be empowered
with the necessary abilities to establish programs and policies which would provide
innovative solutions in the realms of health equity. Immediately after my masters
training, I intend to kick-start a teaching career in Public Health back home. I am
certain that MSc in Public health and Health Systems at University of Waterloo
would set me on a high pedestal required in building my future career as a health
researcher, Research focused dental practitioner and a change agent for sub-
Saharan Africa.

CV

Name xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx

Address:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lagos

Tel: xxxxxxxxxxxx; E-mail:xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

PERSONAL DETAILS
xxxxxxxxxxxx
SCHOOLS ATTENDED
▪ Studied Dental Surgery at Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Ikeja, Lagos
(2008-2017)
▪ Did a mini MBA at Lagos Business school, Pan-Atlantic University, Lekki Ajah, Nigeria (August 2016)
▪ Secondary education at Queens’ College Yaba, Lagos (2002-2007)
▪ Primary education at Fountain Nursery and Primary School, Surulere, Lagos (1997-2001)

FUNDING/AWARDS
▪ Best graduating student and Scholar of the year, Faculty of Dentistry; by Lagos State University
(May 2018).
▪ Provost Gold Prize for the best graduating student; by the Provost, LASUCOM (May 2018)
▪ Faculty prize for the best graduating student in the faculty of Dentistry; by the LASU Senate (May
2018).
▪ National Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence; by Federation of Catholic Medical and
Dental Students (FECAMDS) on achieving the best undergraduate result across the Medical
discipline in the entire Federation (August 2017).
▪ Best graduating student and Scholar of the year; by College of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry,
LASUCOM (April 2017).
▪ Bachelor of Dental Surgery Honors degree; by College of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, LASUCOM
(April 2017).
▪ Eight (8) Distinctions in Anatomy, Physiology, Operative Dentistry, Prosthetic Dentistry, Science
of Dental Materials, Orthodontics, Preventive Dentistry, Oral and maxillofacial dentistry; by
College of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, LASUCOM.
▪ Award of Academic Excellence (June 2017); by Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students
(FECAMDS).
▪ Finalist, Unilever Hatton Research Competition-Junior Category (October 2016).
▪ Grey Award for the best student in the 4th Professional Examination (July 2016); by LASU Medical
Students’ Association.
▪ Grey Award for the best student in the 3rd Professional Examination (August 2014); by LASU
Medical Students’ Association.
▪ Grey Award for the best student in the 2nd Professional Examination (May 2013); by Lagos State
University Medical Students’ Association.
▪ Poetry winner, Valentine poetry competition (2013) by Christian Medical and Dental Association.
▪ Grey Award for the best student in the 1st Professional Examination (November 2012); by LASU
Medical Students’ Association.
 ▪ Award of Academic Excellence (2012); by Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students
(FECAMDS).

LEADERSHIP AWARDS
▪ Award of selfless service and contributions while in service as President, by Federation of Catholic
Medical and Dental students (May 2017).
▪ 1st runner-up Bill Clinton's Hult prize Challenge for Social Entrepreneurs (November 2016).
▪ Award of selfless service; by LASUSU Leadership Conference Planning committee (October 2016)
▪ Award of Honour, in recognition of my feat as a pioneer product of dental surgery, LASUCOM and
immense contribution to the growth of the Dental Association (September 2016).
▪ Award of selfless service, Excellence and unwavering commitment as a Member of the LASUSU
Leadership Conference Planning Committee (November 2015)
▪ Award of selfless service and contributions while in service as Vice President, by Federation of
Catholic Medical and Dental students (October 2014).

FELLOWSHIP
• Fellow, Society for Quality Health Care in Nigeria (SQHCN) (2011-Date)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
▪ Research Assistant, Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology department, Lagos State University
Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos. (Dec 2017- date)
▪ Research Assistant, Oral Maxillofacial Surgery department, Lagos State University Teaching
Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos. (Dec 2017- date)
▪ Research Assistant, Preventive Dentistry department, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital,
Ikeja, Lagos. (July 2017- Dec 2017)
▪ Dentist (Dental house officer), Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos. (June 2017-
May 2018)
▪ An administrative officer at Orthoplus dental specialists (April-June 2017).

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP
• Member of International Association of Dental Research. (October 2016- Date)

▪ Member, Nigerian Dental Association (2017)

▪ Member of Nigeria Medical Association. (2015-Date)

▪ Member, Medical Guild of Nigeria (2017)

▪ Member, Medical Women Association of Nigeria (2017)
 ▪ Honorable Member, Students’ Parliamentary Council, Lagos State University. (2014)
▪ Head of Logistics, Lagos State University Dental Students Association (2014-2015).
▪ President, Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students (2013-2015).
▪ Assistant Academic secretary, Christian Medical and Dental Students (2012).
▪ Vice president, Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students (2012).
▪ Academic secretary, Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students (2012).
▪ Member Standing Committee on Public Health (SCOPH) Nigerian Medical Students Association
(2012).

VOLUNTEER/COMMUNITY WORK
▪ Mentor and Coach on Academic Excellence for Queens’ College, Yaba; I am dedicated to coaching
teenage girls on academic excellence as well as mentoring them individually on career choice
while helping them to develop strategies towards their career goals. (2015- Date).
▪ Lead Anchor and Founding member of the planning committee, LASUSU Leadership Conference
(2013-Date).
▪ Member, Health team- Human resource group, Awesome Treasures Foundation, responsible for
planning, executing and evaluating health programs (2014-Date).
▪ Volunteer Medical personnel at the free health outreach program organized by Dynamic Minds
League (2015- date).
▪ Volunteer Health speaker at free health outreach program organized by FECAMDS (June 2017).
▪ Volunteer dentist at World Oral health day (20th March 2017).
▪ Volunteer Health speaker, in Cook and Dish series at Girls Correctional Centre, Mushin organized
by Wally Walters Foundation (2015).
▪ Member, constitution review committee, Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students
(2015).
▪ Member, Young African Leaders Initiative Network (2014-date).
▪ Organizer of several free Medical and Dental outreaches held at Aiyetoro, Iyana-era, Ikorodu,
Ikeja communities in Lagos state under FECAMDS (2013-date).
▪ Awareness campaign on Cardiovascular diseases, Breast cancer, HIV/AIDS and free HIV testing
and counseling, Orphanage and Hospital visitations and several other health programs under the
aegis of The Community Health/Public Health Care Department, LASUCOM and Lagos State
University Medical Students’ Association (2014-2017).
▪ Class representative; Class of ’17, Lagos State University College of Medicine (2010-2014)

CONFERENCES ATTENDED
▪ Nigerian Society of Restorative Dentistry, 4th Scientific Conference (13th-14th September 2017).
▪ International Association for Dental Research, 13th Annual Scientific Conference, and Annual
General Meeting (11th-12th October 2016).
▪ Nigeria Association of Dental Public Health Annual Conference (October 2014).
 ▪ Nigerian Dental Association, Bi-annual conference (November 2013).
▪ Nigerian Medical Students’ Association, Standing committee on Public Health, Cardiovascular
Symposium (24th September 2012).
▪ The LASUSU Leadership Annual Conference (attended in 2013-2017).

RESEARCH WORKS
▪ Conducted a research on Oral health knowledge and practices of patients attending the diabetic
clinic of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH); which was presented at
International Association for Dental Research(IADR) Annual Scientific Conference and qualified
me as a finalist for Unilever Hatton Research Competition-Junior Category. (October 2016)
▪ Conducted a research on Awareness of oral cancer among health workers in Tertiary health
institutions in Lagos (2016).
▪ Range and demographics of Paediatric head and neck lesions seen at the Oral Pathology
laboratory in LASUTH in the past 5years. (ongoing for publication)
▪ A review of cases of parotid neoplasms seen at the Oral and Maxillofacial department of LASUTH
in the past 5years. (ongoing for publication)
▪ A 3-year review of patterns of fractures in the oral and maxillofacial region seen at the Oral and
Maxillofacial department of LASUTH. (ongoing for publication)
▪ Assisted in data collection for a research on the predisposing factors and pattern of tooth wear
lesions in Gastroesophageal reflux disease patients attending Gastroenterology and Dental clinic,
LASUTH (2017)
▪ Assisted in data collection and entry for a research on the pattern of manifestation of Recurrent
Aphthous ulcer in patients attending oral medicine clinic LASUTH (2017).
▪ Assisted in data collection for a research on the awareness and effect of periodontitis in glycaemic
control in Diabetic patients LASUTH (2017).
▪ Assisted in data collection and statistical analysis for a research on the awareness, parent anxiety
and occurrence of oral manifestation in children with rehabilitative medical condition (2017)

*******************************************************************
Letter to Supervisors from Candidate 2

Dear Professor Peter Hall,

My name is xxxxxx xxxxxxx. I'm a graduate of Dental Surgery from the prestigious Lagos State University
College of Medicine and I have been considering various graduate studies through which I could push
certain evident barriers hindering economic growth in my country and these forms the basis of my
choice of continuing studies as a graduate student of school of Public Health and Health Systems at
University of Waterloo with a focus on cutting-edge research.

I believe that I can prove a competitive candidate in your research lab. Despite my numerous leadership
roles during my undergraduate training, I graduated summa cum laude, bagging a Bachelor of Dental
Surgery degree with honours. This was a set record in the past 34 years of existence of the institution so
it qualified me a spot in her hall of fame. My affinity for public health research was birthed during my
undergraduate training days while serving as a student leader of numerous purposeful associations
where we organised free Medical and Dental outreaches to underprivileged communities which sub
served at least 2000 individuals each time.

As a certified member of Society of Quality Healthcare in Nigeria, I also got the opportunity to learn the
importance of statistics as a tool in evidence based research and the building of health policy guidelines
to revive fallen health states during the Ebola virus epidemic in Nigeria. I am very confident in this
decision which I have carefully nurtured; my undergraduate research qualified me amongst the finalists
of International Association of Dental Research during my final year.

In my hours spent daily at a local gym, there were plus-sized women and even pot-belled men who
seemed zealous about a hopeful miraculous weight loss in just few days at the gym. I noticed that
despite the zeal and prolonged ‘gospel’ from the dietician, their food diary which they submitted to her
weekly was always an apology. This ignited my research interest in the neurobiology of health-related
behaviours in the area of food cravings and eating. Please let me know if there is an available graduate
position in your research lab where I can fit in the upcoming fall 2018 term. I will be looking into the
possibility of applying for external funding support from major funding agencies.

Please find attached my transcript which details my academic achievements and CV for my experiences
and contacts of previous supervisors and Head of departments as you deem fit.

I understand your engagements and I am open to whichever means of communication fits your
schedule. I earnestly look forward to hearing from you sir.

Yours sincerely,

Name.

Phone number

Email.

Letter to another supervisor by candidate 2

Dear Professor Martin Cooke,

My name is xxxxxx xxxxx. I'm a graduate of Dental Surgery from Lagos State University College of
Medicine and I have been considering various graduate studies through which I could push certain
evident barriers hindering economic growth in my country and these forms the basis of my choice of
continuing studies as a graduate student of school of Public Health and Health Systems at University of
Waterloo with a focus on cutting-edge research.

I believe that I can prove a competitive candidate in your research lab. Despite my numerous leadership
roles during my undergraduate training, I graduated summa cum laude, bagging a Bachelor of Dental
Surgery degree with honours. This was a set record in the past 34 years of existence of the institution so
it qualified me a spot in her hall of fame. My affinity for public health research was birthed during my
undergraduate training days while serving as a student leader of numerous purposeful associations
where we organised free Medical and Dental outreaches to underprivileged communities which sub
served at least 2000 individuals each time.

As a certified member of Society of Quality Healthcare in Nigeria, I also got the opportunity to learn the
importance of statistics as a tool in evidence based research and the building of health policy guidelines
to revive fallen health states during the Ebola virus epidemic in Nigeria. I am very confident in this
decision which I have carefully nurtured; my undergraduate research qualified me amongst the finalists
of International Association of Dental Research during my final year.

Having organised and volunteered in over 50 medical and dental outreaches to underprivileged
communities till date, I saw how various social and political factors played out on the health of members
of these communities, this ignited my research interest in existing inequities in health. I plan to
understudy the effect of socio-economic status on dietary intake and the resulting predisposition to
selected health conditions using secondary data from Canadian Community Health Survey. Please let me
know if there is an available graduate position in your research lab where I can fit in the upcoming fall
2018 or winter 2019 terms. I will be looking into the possibility of applying for external funding support
from major funding agencies.

Please find attached my transcript which details my academic achievements and CV for my experiences
and contacts of previous supervisors and Head of departments as you deem fit.

I understand your engagements and I am open to whichever means of communication fits your
schedule. I earnestly look forward to hearing from you sir.

Yours sincerely,

Name, Phone Number, Email.

Candidate 3

CV

Name of Candidate

Nationality: Ghanaian Date: 29-Mar-18xx Language: English

Marital Status: Single Gmail: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Address: House No. 57, Linkedin profile: xxxxxxxxxxx Tel: +2332698xxxx

Street 10 N.I.C Top, Accra, Greater Accra

Work Experience

1 - Lab Technician (Intern) (May-2015 - Sep-2015)

Divine Medical Laboratory, Adjacent sikkens paint, Madina-zongo Junction.

Serving as an intern at Divine Medical Laboratory, my job task involved was to diagnose patients through
performing of varieties laboratory test and providing of treatment information to the diagnosed patient.

2 - Public Health personnel (intern) (Jun-2016 - Aug-2016)

Pro-Health International, Olatunbosun street Olatunbosun St, Maryland, Lagos, Nigeria.

• My job roles as an intern in Pro-Health International was to support designed programs to facilitate
the prevention of diseases.

• Attend strategic business meetings with stakeholders, officials from government organizations.

• Support team for the successful implementation of standard operating procedure (SOP) for Public
Health Response to Emergencies.

3 - Staff Coordinator (Sep 2018-Present)

Social Security and National Insurance Trust, P.O. Box M. 149 Ministries-Accra

• As a staff coordinator am responsible for organizing and scheduling staff to ensure that their
organization is fully staffed on each work shift.

• Provides daily staffing reports to supervisors and mange accounts for staff, it also includes
verifying staff work hours, work done by staff.
 • Other responsibilities include administrative tasks to assist senior supervisors with daily
activities.

Education

Leadership/ Business and Entrepreneurship. (Mar, 2018 – Aug,

2018)

Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) - Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration
(GIMPA),

Greenhill, Accra

Business/ Entrepreneurship.

University Degree (Sep 2014 – Jul 2018)

Ghana Christian University (Affiliated to University of Development Studies)

Dodowa road, Accra

B.A Development Management (Major in Public Health)

Research Experience
• Moses, C.I., & John, F. (2018). Accessing knowledge, attitude and practice of food vendors
among food vendors in Amarhia community, Accra-Ghana. (Undergraduate final year thesis,
mixed method research)

• Research assistant to Massah Kuje to collect data on a study on malnutrition in children under
age 5 in koose community, Accra- Ghana (mixed method research)

• Research assistant to Charlie Anyenmor to enter data on a study on Nexus between

unemployment and social vices among the youths in Jericho community Accra, Ghana (mixed
method)

• Research assistant to Teny Dauda to collect data on a study on use of personal protective
equipment (PPE) at workplace in Musa University College Accra- Ghana (Quantitative research)

Leadership Experience
 • Regional Coordinator at YouthSpark Pan African (Mar 2017-Present)

• Students Representative Council (SRC) Secretary of Ghana Christian University College

(Sep 2017- Jul 2018)

• Staff coordinator at Social Security and National Insurance Trust (Sep 2018-Present)

• Research assistant (Sep 2017-Jul 2018)

• Health coordinator at Universal Trinity Mission (Sep 2014-Present)

• First aider at Social Security and National Insurance Trust (Sep 2018- Present)

Fellowship and Awards

• Young African Leader at Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI, 2018)

• Best Student at LACE Finishing School (2017)

• Principal sponsored participant at Entrepreneurship Training, Accra. (2015)

• Essay Winner at ARSO 2nd Continental Essay Competition at the National Level on “The Role of
Standards in Promoting Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security and Trade in Africa” (2014)

Volunteer Experience

• Organized Breast cancer awareness outreach (2018)

• Facilitated First Aid Workshop at Ghana Christian University (2017)

• Organized community health outreach at Amarhia Community School Accra- Ghana (2016)

• Organized Pro- Health community health outreach at Idoko Community Ogun State- Nigeria
(2015)

• Organized health outreach at Lagos State port of entries, Nigeria (2014)

• Children’s ministry teacher at Universal Trinity Mission Accra- Ghana (2014- Present)

• Taught at Real Mission Academy Accra- Ghana (2014)

• Organized SRC Health Week at Ghana Christian University, Accra- Ghana (2014)
Personal statement from candidate 3
***********************************************************************************

Title: Where I am coming from, and where I am going to.

I have applied to study Masters in Food security policy and management in University College Cork,
Ireland starting fall, 2019. In the next few paragraphs, I will tell you why I am the right candidate for
your program.
I am academically competitive and have experience working with industry stakeholders. First, I
graduated as part of the top 2% of my school’s graduating class and my thesis was on a food topic.
My undergraduate thesis used mixed methods to assess the knowledge, attitude, and food safety
practices of food vendors in Amarhia community in Ghana. This means that I have experience doing
both quantitative and qualitative research. Secondly, I did summer internships with different
organizations during my undergraduate program. In two of the cases, I assisted a non-for-profit
organization in Nigeria to develop and implement the Standard of Operation (SOP) for public health
emergencies response, covering the port of entries (land, air and water). In the other case I assisted an
NGO in Ghana to develop and implement MyCommunity Farm Project (Mycfp) which focuses on
local economic development by mobilizing communities in the Agotime- Ziope district to establish
and own a community farm in other to create in them the mindset of sustainable food systems. These
experiences serve as a strong foundation upon which I will build my master’s work.

More so, as one who majored in public health, an MSc. in Food Security Policy and Management
which is one of the major key branches in Public Health will make me more specialized to handle
food policy research. It will also better position me in my ambition to work with the government of
Irish and Nigeria and beyond to successfully implement food security policies and management
programs across the country. Following the implementation of universal health coverage in Nigeria
and other countries, focus has been rightly shifted toward preventive services as a means of reducing
health care expenditure which food security measures play a very big role, because most diseases and
health issues result from the quantity and quality of the food we eat. Therefore, more research needs
to be done to inform policies that will increase the uptake of these food security policy and
management programs. This programme will also help develop my higher-level thinking skills to
gain a deep understanding of the multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral nature of the food security and
nutrition challenge and to be able to identify innovative solutions to this challenge. It is my utmost
conviction that the knowledge and skills that I will gained from this master’s program at University
College Cork (UCC) would tremendously help me to develop my career in the field of food security,
particularly policy and programme management, policy development and implementation, and
impact assessment of programmes aimed at improving food security and dietary quality.

Before now, I have been involved with organizing several free community health programs that
focuses on educating community dwellers on the need for food security and food safety measures. As
a result of my community works, I gain the United States government recognition as a young African
leader. Hence, I was among 138 out of 9000 applicants selected and trained in the prestigious
fellowship; Young Africa Leaders Initiative (YALI), 2018. While studying at your University, I will
create a club for GOI-IES Scholars and with this platform, we will draft a food security policy that
will be presented to Irish Parliament.
Starting with my master’s project and after I graduate from this program, I will continue to
collaborate with UCC professors to write research papers. Also, I have already started speaking with
the dean of my faculty on how UCC professors could be invited to my alma mater as visiting
professors to give guest lectures. Many Universities in Nigerian and Ghana know the importance of
teaching food security to their students but lack professors who are experts in food security. Hence,
there is need to establish mutually benefitting partnerships between your professors and these
schools. I will make University of dash* proud.

Letter to supervisor by candidate 3.

> Dear Prof. Kitty Corbett
>
> I would like you to supervise my Masters in Public Health and Health Systems at University of
Waterloo starting Fall 2019.
>
> I am a young public health graduate from Ghana. In many ways, I have developed robust interest for
healthcare research in a setting where such is almost an exclusive reserve for senior practitioners. I have
observed keenly, and can say that the routine practice here is merely a repetition of 'how it is done' and
no strong research effort (especially from young public health practitioners) are visibly towards
discovering new methods and solution to the overwhelming healthcare issues in Ghana and other sub-
Saharan African countries. Given that I intend to teach in our higher institutions in Africa and solve some
public health issues, I believe that my enthusiasm for research is appropriate and deserves to be roundly
developed to enable me train others who may not be opportune to study in a renowned institution as
university of Waterloo. This is why I am applying to study Masters in Public health and Health Systems. I
hope to use the knowledge I will get from this masters to train local researchers here in West Africa to
be able to conduct quality research whose findings can be beneficial in formulating local policies while
helping them to become competitive in international research.
>
> There are a few qualities and skills I possess that make me believe that I am very competitive and
should consequently be given a chance to study at University of Waterloo. First, I am academically
competitive and graduated as part of the top 2% of students in my cohort from Public health
department in University of Development Studies, Ghana, and my thesis was on assessing the
knowledge, attitude and practice of food safety among food vendors in Amarhia community in Ghana.
Secondly, I have experience working with industry stakeholders. For instance, as an Intern, I assisted an
NGO in Nigeria to develop and implement the Standard of Operation (SOP) for Public Health
Emergencies Response covering the port of entries (Land, Air and Water). My community health services
recently earned me United States government recognition. as a result, I was among 138 out of 9000
applicants selected and trained in the prestigious fellowship; Young Africa Leaders Initiative (YALI),
2018.
>
> My experiences from conducting health outreaches in rural communities made me discover that to
truly make huge impact in those communities, the implementation of favorable health policies cannot
be over emphasized. Hence my desire to become an internationally recognized and vibrant investigator
who will effectively communicate results of evidence-based research to decision-makers in order to
enable them make informed health policies and healthcare development. It is my utmost conviction that
the knowledge and skills that would be gained from this Master’s program at University of Waterloo
which is thesis based, would tremendously help me to develop my career as a Public Health Specialist.
>
> My research interests include (1) Health promotion (2) Food security (3) Health communication. My
primary goal now is to develop the capacity to do quality research, hence I am flexible and willing to
adapt my research focus to fit your current lab need. I would be honored to have the opportunity to be
supervised and mentored by you.
>
> I look forward to receiving your feedback.
>
> Name,
> University of Development Studies,
> Ghana.

*************************************************

Candidate 4 CV

Name: ATOE-IMAGBE OSAGIODUWA MIKE

Sex: Male
Nationality: Nigerian
Contact Address: 9 David Arikowa Street, off Akporisi layout, Ugbeyiy, Sapele,
Delta state, Nigeria
Email: oxxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com
Mobil Phone: +23xxxxxxxxxxxx.

Qualification and institutions attended:

• • Membership of West African College of Physicians (MWACP) –Internal medicine.(2011-2015)

• • Primary Fellowship examination; National Post Graduate Medical College and West African
College of Physicians- Internal Medicine (2011)
• • Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of surgery (MBBS) - University of Benin, Benin-city.(2002-
2008)

• • West African Senior School Certificate (WASSCE) - Paragon International high school (Now
Integrity National High School), Benin-city, Nigeria (1994-2000)

• • First School Leaving Certificate, Ore-oghene Primary School Benin City, Edo State,
Nigeria.(1989-1994)

Funding/Awards
• • Awarded Scholar of the Class of 2008, by the 2008 graduating class of College of Medical
Sciences, University of Benin.(2008)
• • Overall best student in Fifth year class, School of medicine, University of Benin(2008)
• • Overall best student in Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of medicine, University of
Benin(2008)
• • Overall best student in third year class(First professional Examination) School of medicine,
University of Benin(2005)
• • Awarded distinctions in Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology, by School of medicine,
University of Benin (2003-2008)
• • Awarded best student in botany first year, by University of Benin.(2003)

• Awarded best Science Student, by Paragon international high school, Benin-City(2000)

• • Awarded Overall Best Graduating Student by Paragon international high School (2000)

Leadership Awards
• • Service Award for being the welfare secretary of the Association of Resident Doctors Delta
State university Teaching hospital Oghara, Delta State(2014)
• • Service Award for being the financial secretary of the Association of Resident Doctors Delta
State university Teaching hospital Oghara, Delta State.(2013)
• • Excellence Award for being the president of medical community development service
group(National Youth Service Corps) Benue State (2011)

Fellowship
• • Fellowship of the west African college of physicians November2011-March 2018

Professional Experience
• • Paid intern University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) 2009-2010
• • Medical Officer, Federal Medical Centre Makurdi, Benue State 2011
• • (Nigerian Youth Service Corp)
• • Registrar Internal medicine Department, Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara,
Delta state December 2011-April 2015
• • Senior Registrar (Cardiology Subspecialty) Delta State University Teaching hospital, Oghara,
Delta State. April 2015 till date
• • Community specialist health care provider Catholic Hospital ABBI, Delta state(2015-2016)
Professional Membership
• • Member of Nigerian Medical Association(NMA).( 2009-Date)
• • President of medical community development service group(National Youth Service Corps)
Benue State (2011)
• • Member Association of Resident doctors(DELSUTH).( 2011-Date)
• • Member Nigeria Cardiac Society (NCS). (2016-Date)
• • Associate member of Association of black cardiologist in America.(2015-date)
• • Financial Secretary Association of Resident Doctors Delta State university Teaching hospital
Oghara, Delta State.(2013)

Volunteer/Community Work
• • Pioneer Co-coordinator/head of the Gilead medical unit, saddled with responsibility of
managing and rendering all health services needed during church meetings.; Living Faith Church Shell
road Sapele, Delta State.(2016-Date)
• • Volunteered for a community Healthcare Outreach Organized by Christian fellowship
international, Non-Governmental Organization (2005-2008)
• • Co-ordinated several free medical and dental Outreach Programs to Oluku, Uselu, Ugbowo
and other communities in Edo State, and Delta all in Nigeria under the University of Benin medical
students Association, UBEMSA(2005-2008)
• • Volunteered for a medical and dental outreach program organized by Christian medical and
dental association of Nigeria.(2007)
• • Class Representative of class Group of 2008, college of Medical Sciences, University of Benin.
(2006-2008)

CONFERENCES/COURSES ATTENDED
• • August 2013; West African college of physicians (WACP) Ethics/update course
• • August 2015; WACP Research Methodology course
• • August 2015; Lagos Cardiovascular symposium organized by the Association of Black
cardiologist in America.
• • September 2015; 44th Annual General and Scientific meeting of Nigerian Cardiac Society
(NCS).
• • September 2016; Lagos Cardiovascular symposium organized by the Association of Black
cardiologist in America.
• • September 2016; 45th Annual General and Scientific meeting of Nigerian Cardiac Society (NCS).
• • June 2017; Update in Cardiology and Endocrinology Organized by West African college of
physicians.
• • August 2017; West African college of physicians sub-specialty update in Cardiology.

Research works
• • Conducting research on cardiac abnormalities in young versus older adult stroke patients at
Delta state university Teaching Hospital.(2016-date)
• • Assisted in data collection on a research topic; heart failure registry in Nigeria 2016-Date
• • Research topic; knowledge, attitude and practice of self-breast examination among university
of Benin students 2008.

Letter to Supervisor by Candidate 4

Dear Dr Ryan Allen,

I am a specialist trainee physician in University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin, Edo, Nigeria, who has
keenly undergone training in all aspects of internal medicine in the last six years, with special interest in
cardiovascular disease. Over the years, I have seen deficiencies in the health care system of my country
Nigeria, as most individuals focus on the norm, without acquiring administrative skills to bring into play
the acquired clinical knowledge for the benefit of the patients. I have observed that a proper Research
and health policy training is the missing link between this abundant human resource and actual
improvement in the health care indices in Nigeria.

A few qualities and skills which I possess make me very competitive and should be given the opportunity
to study in Simon Fraser University. First, I was the best graduating science student and overall best
student in academics in my high school, after which I proceeded to the university where I won several
prizes and award including distinctions in Anatomy, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, and overall best
student at the final year in medical school. I have organized several community health outreaches both
as an undergraduate and during my national youth service corps, where I was the president of the
medical group in Kwara state. During my tenor, I organized a state wide free medical screening, health
care outreaches, health talks, and free treatments with over 100 health care personal and over 2000
participants. My major interest is to improve the standard of health care and reduce mortality from
preventable diseases. I have experience with data analysis using SPSS. I am eager to learn how to use
other software like SAS and R for data analysis.

I am applying to study Masters of Science in Public Health at Simon Fraser University starting Fall 2018.
This degree will give me the required knowledge of various ways I can collaborate to improve the health
care need of my country especially ways to reduce death due to preventable medical conditions,
spanning into arrears of cardiology (heart diseases), obstetric care (maternal and child health), and
infectious diseases. As a matter of urgency, on my return, I will relate with various government and non-
governmental agencies and other political stakeholders on the various way our health needs can be met.
I Intend to engage in evidence based advocacy to build a functional primary health care clinic, one in
each of the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.

My research interests include 1) epidemiology 2) environmental health 3) health management. I wish to

request to be supervised mentored by you during my study at Simon Fraser University, given your
wealth of experience in these fields.
I look forward to your response.

Best Regards,

Name.

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Other Random samples from other Candidates

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Letter to supervisor by Candidate 5
I am a young medical doctor from Nigeria who is interest in cardiovascular physiology. There is
a rise cardiovascular disease and I have sadly witnessed the death of many patients from
different cardiovascular disease. While emphasis has been rightly placed on managing these
diseases, there is need to also focus on its prevention. This means studying pre-disease
cardiovascular Health well enough to identify areas that could be focused on for newer
interventions.
In addition, I consider myself a cardiovascular health enthusiast and I have organized and
participated in several health care outreaches/programs to several rural communities for the
purpose of health education, risk assessment and screening for cardiovascular disease. I also
have experience working with whole animals or body parts of animals especially rabbits. In one
case, I was administered different pharmacologically active substances on the wall of the guts
of rabbits to identify their effects on the contraction rate and pattern of smooth muscles.
Severally, I worked with full rabbits and examined how they react o difference plant extracts.
Nutrition and diet have been shown to have effect on the cardiovascular system. I would like to
conduct my thesis to focus on identifying the nutrition patterns among older adults in Nigeria
and how this correlate to their cardiovascular health status. I am comfortable with using either
quantitative method, qualitative method or both. Currently, most of the advice given to
patients are from study findings from outside Nigeria. So, result from this study will enhance
the development of targeted cardiovascular health promotion messages that are sensitive to
the culture of the people in local communities.
I am willing to refine my thesis focus to meet the current research needs of your lab. I have no
doubt that University of Waterloo is the best place for me to do my masters because the
university has renowned researchers including a Nobel Prize Winner. Give me the opportunity
to make the University and my community proud.
Name.

Another Letter to supervisor by candidate 5

I am a young female medical doctor from Nigeria who is interest in qualitative population-
based research.
I grew up in a densely populated neighborhood in a small city and sadly witnessed the death of
many neighbors from illness that could have been prevented. As a teen, I witnessed so many
barbaric and harmful health practices like putting the feet of a convulsing child in fire or giving
them urine to drink. This and many more birthed in me the desire to be a health care
personnel. I understand that people could sometime do irrational things for rational reasons.
Therefore, understanding the reason behind people’s actions through qualitative research will
enable public health personnel to provide targeted health information to local communities.
As I progressed through medical school, my interest in public health continued to grow. After I
lost a dear friend and classmate to lassa fever; a viral illness that is still claiming lives in my
country till date, I carried out a research on ‘Assessment of Environmental Risk Factors in the
transmission of lassa fever’ amongst students leaving in hostel communities. The study elicited
the importance of identifying the environmental risk factors that influence the transmission of
this dreaded disease in order to be able to control and prevent its spread. In addition, I consider
myself a public health enthusiast and I have organized and participated in several health care
outreaches/programs to several rural communities for the purpose of health education, risk
assessment and screening for preventable diseases.
Now, I wish to develop my capacity to carry out qualitative research because a lot of the
research that need to be done in rural communities require conducting interviews and
meetings with stakeholders. Hence, there is need for me to learn how to do qualitative
research right, to reduce or eliminate bias in these studies. Also, there is shortage of qualitative
researchers in Nigeria and this means that many young researchers who are interested in
qualitative research lack role models. So, after my study, I hope to establish a qualitative
research institute in Nigeria with the collaboration of qualitative researchers from University of
Waterloo.
I have no doubt that University of Waterloo is the best place for me to develop my qualitative
research capacity. Give me the opportunity to make the University and my community proud.
Bonus: Writing Sample from Candidate 2

This is a 3-page summary of the introduction of one of the researches I carried

out in my final year in Dental school.

ORAL HEALTH KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES OF PATIENTS ATTENDING

THE DIABETIC CLINIC IN LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY TEACHING
HOSPITAL (LASUTH), LAGOS, NIGERIA.
Adaora C. Aforka1, Augustine I. Edomwonyi2
The Dental centre, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos state.

INTRODUCTION
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder which is characterized by chronic
hyperglycemia associated with symptoms including polyuria, polydipsia and
weight loss, sometimes with polyphagia and blurred vision, which may be
accompanied by growth impairment and increased susceptibility to certain
infections.1It is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not
produce enough insulin (a hormone that regulates blood sugar) or when the body
cannot effectively use the insulin it produces.2

The prevalence of diabetes has increased worldwide to epidemic proportions, The

World Health Organization, estimates that cases of diabetes has increased from
30 million in 1985 to 135million in 1995, and is projected to increase from 171
million in 2000 to 366 million by the year 2030.3 In 2014 the global prevalence
of diabetes was estimated to be 9% among adults aged 18+ years.2 In 2015, 415
million people had diabetes in the world and more than 14 million people in the
Africa; however there were more than 1.56 million cases of diabetes in Nigeria.4
The greatest increase in prevalence is expected to occur in Asia and Africa, this
increase in incidence of diabetes in developing countries follows the trend of
urbanization and lifestyle changes.5

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a significant cause of death; in 2012, an estimated 1.5

million deaths were directly caused by diabetes.2 More than 80% of diabetes
deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.2 Going by these rising
figures, WHO projects that diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death in
2030.3
The most common oral health problems associated with diabetes are: Periodontal
disease, gum disease, salivary gland dysfunction, fungal infections, oral burning
and taste impairment, oral mucosal diseases including lichen planus and
recurrent aphthous stomatitis, dental caries, traumatic ulcers and irritation
fibroma.5-7

Despite DM being prevalent in populations worldwide; it is only recently that

much attention has been paid to the link between this disease and oral health.
A two-way relationship between periodontitis and diabetes has been described,
with each condition having adverse impacts on the other. For example,
periodontitis has been associated with worse long-term glycemic control in
people with type 2 diabetes, as well as increased risk of diabetic nephropathy
(macroalbuminuria and end-stage renal disease) and cardiorenal mortality
(ischaemic heart disease and diabetic nephropathy combined.8 Periodontitis has
also been associated with longitudinal HbA1c increases in people who do not
have diabetes, suggesting that periodontal inflammation may influence the risk
of developing diabetes.9 Although, the emerging evidence linking periodontal
disease to CVD and diabetes mellitus has been mainly published in dental
journals, the association is still however not widely appreciated amongst
healthcare professionals working in cardiology and diabetes.10

In broad terms, the risk of periodontitis is increased approximately three-fold in

people with diabetes and the risk is greater with poor glycemic control (i.e. those
with HbA1c >75 mmol/mol[>9%].8,11 In well-controlled diabetes (HbA1c ≤53
mmol/mol [≤7%]), there appears to be little evidence for an increased risk of
periodontitis.12 Therefore, it is important to be aware of the increased risk of
periodontitis and other possible oral complications in all people with diabetes
and, in particular, those with poor glycemic control, regardless of age.13

However, the current knowledge of diabetics about their increased risk to oral
diseases is alarming; The results of a study done in Pakistan showed that 35.4%
of the patients had knowledge about the oral complications of diabetes, 57 % did
not know that diabetes predisposed them to oral disease and 7.6 % denied any
existence of a link between diabetes and oral health.13 Similarly, another study
found that diabetic patients’ awareness of their increased risk for oral diseases
was low compared to their awareness of systemic diseases.14 A study in India
among 300 diabetic subjects, 67% were aware about the kidney complications,
57 about the eye complications, 53% about heart complications and only 42%
were aware of their oral complications.15

Diabetic patients’ attitude towards oral health is not any different if not worse;
the same study done in India shows, the attitude of the participants towards
maintaining good oral health is poor, as only 26% out of 300 said they brush
twice a day and only 41% out of 300 said they use floss daily and about 6% said
they don’t even brush daily as a regular basis. The data from the study also
showed that only 146 from 300 visited their dentists within the last year and the
reason was due to pain or discomfort only.15 However, a study carried out on the
awareness of periodontitis among Nigerian diabetics using 155 diabetic subjects
and 106 health controls showed that 73.6% of the controls had never been to
the dentist before unlike 62.1% of diabetics. In conclusion, the level of awareness
of periodontal disease is quite low amongst both groups; hence there is a need
to promote periodontal health awareness in the general populace as well as
clinics.16
Previous studies indicate that oral health may not be a priority for diabetic
patients and that these patients are less likely than non-diabetic patients to have
visited a dentist.17 Furthermore, it was reported that twice-daily tooth brushing
is less common in diabetic patients than in non-diabetic patients.17
Conclusion of Case studies
Now that you have seen original samples from actual students, compare candidates’
documents with your own documents. Finally, use what was taught during SAPA program as a
reference or benchmark.

You can do this,

Dr Linda Iheme.