ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: UI FIRST CLASS GRADUATE SHARES HER TIPS

I almost collapsed when I couldn’t study Medicine –Olayinka, first class graduate, UI
January 31, 2015 by Tunde Ajaja (culled from Saturday Punch)

Adebayo Olayinka, 22, graduated with a first class from the Department of Physiology, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, in the 2013/2014 academic session, having had a 6.0/7.0 CGPA. She tells TUNDE AJAJA about her experience in school

What was your educational experience like before you got to the University of Ibadan?

My dream as a child was to be a medical doctor, specifically a cardiothoracic surgeon, mainly because I was fascinated with the heart after I saw a medical series. So, most of the steps I took thereafter were geared towards achieving that dream. I realised that my academic performance improved when I was in SS1, and that was about the time I converted from being a Muslim to Christian. Before then, I was not considered brilliant, I was just like an average student even though I was hardworking, but after we resumed for SS1 class, I realised that I started having good scores in all my courses. When I became born again, I told God that I wanted His covenant with me to be that of academic excellence, and he did it. Likewise, I was one of the very few students offered medicine after the pre-degree programme I did at Obafemi Awolowo University in 2009.

How come you did pre-degree programme in OAU and ended up in UI?

After the pre-degree programme in OAU, I was offered Medicine but the list came out when I was already in 100 level studying Physiology in UI. I wanted Medicine but I had to choose the course because it was the easiest path to cross to medicine. Incidentally, the Nigerian Medical Association banned students from crossing to Medicine from other departments because the number of medical students in 200 Level was more than the regulated amount, so we were not allowed to cross regardless of our good grades. Then I had 6.1/7.0 but I just had to stay back. I was heartbroken, it looked like my whole life had crumbled, more so because I had ignored an offer to study Medicine in OAU, so being denied the opportunity again was troubling for me. I got a lot of insults from people and many people reprimanded me for my short-sightedness. It was at that point I told myself and God that since I didn’t cross to medicine, I would get a first class in physiology, and thank God, He worked in me to bring it to pass.

What is Physiology about?

It is a very interesting course. It has been a wonderful experience to understand how the body works and how things happen in our body system in milliseconds. It’s great that physiology affords me the opportunity to behold that wonder every day, and it’s cool explaining the way the body works to people. Besides, people who win Nobel Prize in the area of medicine are doctors and professors of physiology, so I belong to a noble family.

How easy was it to graduate with a first class in the course?

It wasn’t easy at all, more so in UI. In fact, I had told my sister that I would likely graduate with a second class upper but 400 Level was the defining moment for me. As against the usual belief that it is impossible to raise one’s CGPA in 400 Level, God did it for me, and it was by His grace. I had 6.1 in 100 Level, I dropped to a 5.6 in 200 Level, I rose to 5.8 in 300 Level and I hit the 6.0 mark in 400 Level. When my CGPA dropped in 200 Level, I read more, acquired a lot of textbooks and I also was eager to teach others, which made the courses more familiar to me. God really helped me to manage my time very well because of the other things I was involved in, and I was very strong-willed; not moved by the things around me, except what I chose to do. Above all, I prayed fervently, and only five of us had first class since 1973.

If the first person who had a first class in the department graduated in 1973, how were you able to break the jinx?

I think one of the reasons we were the first since 1973 was because we were not allowed to cross to medicine. Usually the best students would want to cross to medicine because some see physiology as a stepping-stone. So, we all stayed back and carried on with our performance and all of us in the class decided to break the barrier and we kept a tab on one another’s progress. Most importantly, it was God’s will and we were just fortunate to be the ones to break the record. In truth, physiology is quite tasking and we were constantly told how impossible it was to have first class, which wrought holy annoyance in us and we were spurred to do better. Then, the lecturers felt that nobody merited the first class but along the line, they found us worthy in sound learning and character, and maybe it was just the right time. However, as much as it feels good to have a first class, I’m worried about the notion that first class students are only good on paper and that they end up working for third class students, which makes the society to see us as nerds. So, really, it’s a bittersweet experience for me, because I have to prove that though I finished with a First Class, I am also ‘first class’ in all dimensions, this I try to do every day.

Is there anything you would have loved to do as a student that you could not?

Yes, I wish I had taken more time to establish myself in social entrepreneurship and also learnt a foreign language because of the emerging need for such these days.

Did you receive any form of award as an undergraduate?

Yes, I had a lot of sponsors both in cash and kind. I was favoured. I also won Total E&P Nigeria Scholarship in my 200 level. It was a reward for academic excellence for 100 and 200 level students in selected departments, so I applied, wrote the exam and I passed, alongside others. We were just two in my class and we were given N150,000 per session till we graduated. The payment started at 300Level until we graduated in 400L since we were able to maintain our CGPA to the required level, which was a major requirement to receive the payment per session.

What was your typical day like as an undergraduate?

Everyday had a diverse itinerary for me, so I planned my day depending on my activities. I slept for at least five hours daily, because I don’t use drugs, so I used to rest well and I read with the target I set for myself because of the other things I had to do. I also taught myself to adapt to several reading conditions. During exams, God usually had a word for me, which I did hang on to, and those words worked for me. On my part, I kept to my reading schedule, treating past questions and doing some tutorials. I used to eat well too. At my leisure, I love to think, envision my future, read about other things of interest and generate ideas, which could scare me sometimes. Then, my hostel was quite far, so I used to stroll in the cool of the day.

What have you been doing since you graduated?

Presently, I’m undergoing my National Youth Service Corps programme in Enugu State, where I’m teaching in a secondary school. I didn’t like it initially because my colleagues were posted to health institutions, so I thought it was demeaning to be posted to a secondary school, but God opened my eyes to opportunities around me. So I started a project termed the Education Reform Project, where I organise free tutorials for intending science students to enable them to have some knowledge in their chosen discipline, at my own expense. I want to use it as an inaugural project to birth my initiative on education intervention. Good education is the right of every child, so I am passionate about it. My siblings and parents have been of great help in encouraging me and I am grateful to them.

What are your aspirations?

To be a policy maker in the education sector and be a minister or commissioner for education someday. I am passionate about education, and it’s a drive for me, I have a lot of initiative to birth with the help of God, especially regarding STEM education in Nigeria. My immediate goals are to do my master’s and PhD in physiology and take some courses related to education policy and curriculum development.

Where would you like to work?

I would want to work in a university environment and an environment where professionalism is being put to use. I also want to be a part of efforts to revive the desire for science education in Nigeria.

What would you advise students, both the incoming and those already in school, to do to have an excellent result?

Students should set their standard at an early stage, try to read beyond their course materials, endeavour to teach others, study hard as if they have never prayed and pray hard as if they never studied. It is also helpful for them to strive to enjoy their course. Above all, they should love God with all their heart and publish His name with all they do.

source: PUNCH

Emmanuel Ayeni

(Engineer, Motivational Speaker, Writer and Entrepreneur)

www.creatingwealth.co/lcp1/emmandus

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