It was September 2022. Sagar Satyal had just emerged from ten days of complete silence.
No phone. No conversations. No distractions, just his mind and the quiet hum of a Vipassana meditation retreat somewhere in Nepal. When he stepped back into the world, something had shifted. Sitting with the impermanence of life for ten days had made one thing clear: he wanted to experience more of it.
He opened his laptop. There was still a week left before the Chevening Scholarship deadline.
He almost didn't apply. Not because he wasn't ready, but because, like most people, he wasn't sure he was ready enough.
He applied anyway.
———
What Made His Application Stand Out Wasn't Magic
Sagar had been doing something real and impactful for years — running My Emotions Matter, an initiative advocating for Emotional Intelligence in Kathmandu. Not because a scholarship required it. Because he actually cared. And the Chevening scholarship just felt like a natural progression.
That, he believes, is what Chevening actually looks for.
"Being selected means you are trusted as an agent of meaningful change," he says. "It's important to demonstrate a track record of being reliable and serious about what you claim to be passionate about. Build a strong profile — not for the scholarship, but because Chevening isn't selecting you for one year. They're selecting a lifelong alumnus."
The interview was online in 2022. He found it hard to read the room. He backed himself to tell his story anyway.
It worked.
People. Places. Projects.
At the University of Nottingham, Sagar studied MSc Human Resource Management and Organization. But the degree, he'll tell you, was only part of what the year was about.
"People-places-projects. These three Ps make any experience meaningful," he says. The international connections, the places across the UK, the personal project of figuring out who you are when you're completely on your own — that was the real education.
The most valuable thing he took away wasn't a qualification. It was self-reliance. "You learn a lot about yourself and grow in maturity," he says. "That's something you couldn't have gotten any other way."
The Sunday That Taught Him Everything
On a quiet Sunday in Nottingham, Sagar and a friend found themselves outside Trent Bridge, one of cricket's most storied grounds. The gates were closed. They pressed their faces against the door, trying to steal a glimpse of the famous pitch.
A staff member noticed them. Sagar braced for the polite rejection.
Instead, the man, Jeff, asked where they were from, smiled warmly, and invited them in for a full private tour of the ground.
"This incident has stayed with me," Sagar says. "It serves as a reminder to 'Be like Jeff' — to see people with compassionate eyes and offer them helpful hands."
A small moment. A lasting lesson. The kind you can only pick up when you're brave enough to leave home.
Back in Nepal — Changed, But Grounded
He came home to the same work he left, My Emotions Matter, the same streets of Kathmandu, the same belief that emotional intelligence is important and worth advocating for. But he came back with more weight behind everything he does.
His Nottingham research on employee wellbeing was adopted by a Kathmandu institution to reshape how they support their people. The Chevening credential opened new international doors too. But Sagar is careful not to let those things become the story.
"When I was in England, I was well aware I would only be around for a year. So I made the most of it. I wouldn't change it for anything."
———
Somewhere right now, someone in Nepal — and across the world — is staring at an email.
It could be an interview invite. Or a rejection letter.
If it's an interview invite, congratulations! You may feel like you're already there. But you're not. Not yet. There is one more wall to climb. And you have everything you need to climb it.
If it's a rejection — we see you. Some may be thinking of calling it quits. But what if the next attempt is the one? Some of you got admission to every course of your choice, did everything right, and Chevening still said no. That specific heartbreak deserves to be named. You are not the problem. Come back stronger.
And if you haven't applied yet thinking you're not ready enough, not impressive enough, not the kind of person scholarships are meant for —
Sagar Satyal applied with one week to spare. After ten days of silence. With no grand plan.
He is now a Chevening Scholar, a Dalai Lama Fellow, and a GRO GEST Fellow in Iceland.
Applications for the 2026–27 Chevening Scholarship open in August 2026.
Congratulations to everyone who made it to the interview round for 2025–26. And to those who were rejected, please come back! The next attempt could be the one.
And don’t forget to share this story.
Sagar Satyal is a Chevening Scholar (2022–23) and founder of My Emotions Matter, an initiative advocating for Emotional Intelligence, based in Kathmandu, Nepal. You may connect with him in Linkedin and know more about his work.
Story #001 — ScholarsNext | Chevening Nepal Series
Know someone whose scholarship story deserves to be told? Drop me a line at [email protected] or [email protected]