Riju Manandhar: How a Recent Graduate Won the Chevening Scholarship on Her First Attempt

After completing her BBA from Shanker Dev Campus, Riju Manandhar began her first full-time role at the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). Although she had experience in scouting and project management, she often felt like she wasn't enough. She wanted to question and improve existing ways of working but recognised that she lacked the knowledge and confidence to do so meaningfully.

One evening after work, she found herself reflecting on where she was and where she wanted to be. She realised she didn't just want to follow traditional ways of doing things — she wanted to shape them and influence decisions. She knew that pursuing a Master's degree would be an important step.

That night, she opened her laptop and began searching for fully funded international scholarships. Chevening was the only one she was eligible for as a recent graduate — and that's where it all began.

Riju did what almost every Chevening applicant does. She went down a rabbit hole of YouTube videos and blogs from alumni — looking for guidance, looking for inspiration.

Instead of feeling inspired, she found herself constantly comparing herself to others — people with more experience, clearer achievements, and stronger voices.

She read about applicants who had applied multiple times over several years before finally being selected, and there she was — a recent graduate applying for the first time.

"I kept questioning whether I was good enough, or simply too early in my journey."

She almost stopped. Many times.

But one thought stayed.

"If I didn't try, I'd be rejecting myself before anyone else could. And the regret of not trying would hurt more than being rejected."

So she kept going.

Writing the Chevening essays was, Riju says, the hardest part of the entire application. Four essays, strict word limits, and the challenge of fitting a life's direction into them without sounding forced.

She wrote many drafts. She had trusted people review them — to point out where she wasn't clear, or where her voice didn't feel authentic.

Her advice for future applicants: take opportunities in areas you care about, and don't underestimate small initiatives. But equally — learn how to tell your story. "Even strong experiences won't stand out if you can't communicate them clearly within the word limits. Honesty and clarity matter more than impressiveness."

Choosing the university was also not an easy task. She knew from the start that she wanted to study Development Studies, but she didn't settle on a university immediately. She spent a LOT OF TIME researching programmes in the UK, looking at course content, faculty expertise, and how each programme aligned with her career goals in international development and social impact.

She chose the University of Sussex because it is ranked #1 in the world for Development Studies (QS World University Rankings by Subject), and the Social Development MA offered the exact modules that excited her.

Riju started preparing for the interview from the day she learned she was shortlisted.

She read every blog and watched every YouTube video on Chevening interviews she could find. She joined a WhatsApp group with other shortlisted applicants from around the world — they organised mock interviews, took turns questioning each other, and gave feedback. She created a Google Doc compiling every question asked in past Chevening interviews and used it to structure her preparation.

She walked out feeling relieved. She had given everything she had.

For anyone shortlisted, her advice is this: "Focus on your story. Be clear about why you do what you do, how your experiences connect to your future goals, and how Chevening will help you achieve them. Practice answering out loud. And remember — the interview isn't just about what you've done. It's about showing your potential and the real you."

She also offers something that deserves its own note. Chevening is an extremely competitive scholarship, with only a 2–3% acceptance rate, and the process is long. From the moment you decide to apply to receiving the final results, it spans almost a full year — a year of uncertainty, anxiety, self-doubt, and constant reflection, pushing you to stay patient and resilient. Even at the end, whether you succeed or not, the process leaves you having grown far beyond what you initially imagined.

The day Riju left for Sussex, she was bedridden with dengue fever.

The doctor had cleared her to travel, but she was still extremely weak. She even tried to postpone her flight, but there were no other options available.

"All I could think about was making it to my dorm alive — hoping I wouldn't faint or collapse along the way."

She made it. She arrived. And Sussex turned out to be its own kind of surprise.

What struck her most was how lecturers encouraged students to challenge ideas and debate with them. She had studied in a "yes sir, yes ma'am" environment her entire life. Finding her voice — the confidence to express a thought that pushed back against authority — took time. But the space was there. And slowly, she grew into it.

While studying for her Master's, she also continued to work at WAGGGS, where she managed a project on digital safety for girls and young women.

One day, reviewing the internet safety curriculum, Riju noticed something that had gone unchallenged for years — the advocacy stories being used lacked diversity. Most were from the Global North, with very little representation from the contexts the participants actually came from.

Drawing on her Chevening learning — particularly around decolonisation, representation, and shifting narratives — she decided to address this gap. She replaced the existing material with stories of digital advocacy led by girls and women from across the Global South. From movements like #NoToBurkiniBan to campaigns such as "The Rapist is You" in Latin America, she curated examples that positioned girls and women from the Global South as active agents of change, not just beneficiaries of development narratives.

The shift made the curriculum more relevant and grounded in lived realities.

"Instead of seeing change as something distant, participants could now relate to these stories and see themselves reflected in them."

During her time at Sussex, she also got the opportunity to work as a Digital Media Creator at the university. It was a part-time student job, and although she had some experience in communications, she had never really considered it as a long-term career path.

But she genuinely enjoyed the role. Creating content, telling stories, and seeing how digital media could engage people and shape conversations — it all felt natural to her. She remembers her line manager asking if she had ever thought about pursuing it more seriously, and that question stayed with her.

After completing her degree, she began intentionally building her communications portfolio and applying for roles in the field. Looking back, she can trace that shift in her career back to her Chevening year — and that opportunity as a Digital Media Creator.

When asked about the single most valuable thing she gained from her Chevening year — something she genuinely couldn't have gotten any other way — her answer came instantly: "Friends!"

She met some of the brightest and most inspiring people from all around the world. They travelled together, celebrated together, and spent long hours in libraries stressing over deadlines. Those shared moments — both the fun and the challenging ones — created bonds she couldn't have built any other way.

"These relationships remain truly invaluable, far beyond the scholarship itself."

She loves travelling, and having Chevening friends around the world has made those experiences far more personal and connected. When she travelled to Singapore and Malaysia, her Chevening friends hosted her, showed her around, and made her feel completely at home.

It's a different kind of network — not just professional, but genuinely supportive. Wherever she goes, she knows there is someone she can reach out to, and that sense of connection is something she deeply values.

She can't help but laugh when remembering her arrival in Nepal — it was her allergies that hit first.

"I have allergic rhinitis, and it had completely disappeared in the UK. But as soon as I landed at TIA, I couldn't stop sneezing in the polluted Kathmandu air."

That immediate physical reminder was quickly followed by something heavier. She had left her job and wasn't sure what came next. There was the joy of being home, but also the pressure of figuring out her next step.

Her year in the UK, however, had given her a level of exposure and confidence she didn't have before. In so many ways, it has also made her more humble. Being surrounded by people from all over the world — each with their own experiences, struggles, and achievements — constantly reminded her how much there is to learn beyond her own perspective. It made her more open, more curious, and more willing to listen.

Overall, studying, working, and adapting to a new environment helped her feel more grounded in her goals and clearer about the direction she wanted to take.

———

Somewhere right now, someone is staring at the Chevening application.

They are scrolling through alumni videos, reading about people with more experience, clearer achievements, longer track records. They are telling themselves they are too early, too small, too unfinished.

Riju Manandhar was that person once too — a recent graduate and a first-time applicant, quietly doubting her abilities.

But she went for it anyway. And she came home with a Master's degree from the world's #1 university for Development Studies, friendships spanning continents, memories of travelling across Europe, and a career she hadn't known she was looking for.

You don't need to have everything figured out. You don't need to be the most experienced person in the room. You don't need a perfect story.

Don't reject yourself before they reject you.

Applications for the 2026–27 Chevening Scholarship open in August 2026.

Is Your Story Next?

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Riju Manandhar is a Chevening Scholar (2022), Digital Communications and Graphics Designer at World YWCA, and a former project coordinator at the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. She studied Social Development MA at the University of Sussex. Connect with her on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/riju-manandhar

Story #006 — ScholarsNext | Chevening Nepal Series

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