She has not had it easy and has had to overcome many obstacles since she left her native Equatorial Guinea at the age of 8, through an NGO, but today, Martina Oyono is closer to graduating in Law at the University of Navarra. A native of Malabo and a third-year student, Martina Oyono has managed to become part of the program Making Links program promoted by the international signature Linklaters in its offices in Madrid, Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, Luxembourg, Milan, Paris and Stockholm. 

The Making Links scholarship program is specifically designed to boost the professional degree program of undergraduate students with an outstanding transcript , who belong to social groups underrepresented in the large law firm environment. The program includes training, individual career coaching sessions, business awareness and personal skills development . Students also complete a one- to three-month paid internship during the summer at Linklaters headquarters. They have the opportunity to network with other European lawyers and students; access to Linklaters' leading legal experts; and to events and activities organized by the firm during their stay. Participants also receive a scholarship to fund their university programs of study .

"I can fulfill my dream and graduate with a law degree."

"I applied to this program thanks to the committee of Inés de Juan, from the Careers Office of the School and getting it has been a great joy. I can fulfill my dream and graduate with a law degree. I will be the first in my family to have a university degree program ", explains Martina Oyono excitedly.

Martina is an orphan. Thanks to her foster family in Pamplona, she managed to finish her programs of study of Primary, Secondary and high school program and enroll in the University of Navarra. "From a very young age I knew I wanted to study law and the University of Navarra was my reference letter", she says.

For the past couple of years, Martina has been able to pay for her own programs of study, thanks to an extraordinary scholarship she receives from the University of Navarra and to the work she works in a restaurant from Thursday to Sunday. Next year, she will also be supported by scholarship from Linklaters. "I have lived through difficult situations in Guinea and in Pamplona, but thanks to all those obstacles that I have managed to overcome I am here. I am very grateful to all the people who have helped me and I am not going to miss this opportunity".