I saw education as only ticket out of poverty — LASU first-class graduate

Ayomide Olubunmi, who graduated with a CGPA of 4.77 from the Department of Communication and Media Studies, Lagos State University, tells AYOOLA OLASUPO about losing her father as an infant, growing up hawking on the streets of Lagos, and how she overcame financial hardship to emerge as the department’s best graduating student

Your first class came against the backdrop of a difficult childhood. What drove you to excel despite the odds?

I’m currently a communication strategist at a gadgets company. I started the job after graduating last year. I’ve worked in different sectors, including PR agencies and mainly the technology industry, with companies that develop software products and those that sell physical products such as phones and watches.

Graduating with a first-class degree is simply evidence of what is possible. Given where I came from, it wasn’t easy to get out. For me, education was my gate way out, not just physically from my environment but mentally as well. It shaped my thinking, what I stand for, my exposure and my experiences, all of which have contributed to the person I am today.

I needed higher education to break out of my circumstances. I wanted to embody excellence, be different and stand out rather than simply follow the crowd. I knew I had to work hard to achieve that. I think the first class came along the way as I put in the effort.

For me, having a first-class education is evidence of what is possible for people who come from backgrounds like mine.

You have described education as your “only ticket out”. What were you determined to change about your life through education?

I come from a single-parent home. My father died when I was five months old, about 25 years ago, so it has always been my mother and me. I grew up in a slum and, as a teenager, I hawked sachet water on the streets.

My mother also sold things on the streets. She cooked noodles for people and did different jobs to survive. At some point, we slept in a shop. It was a difficult way to grow up.

Education was my ticket to seeing things beyond where I came from. Higher education, in particular, exposed me to people and helped me see what I could achieve regardless of my background. Beyond what is taught in the classroom, you learn from your friends’ experiences, what they are doing and what they are capable of. I wanted that exposure. I knew there was something beyond my immediate environment; I just needed to get there.

finished secondary school in 2019, when I was almost 18, which was relatively late. I then took a gap year to teach and raise money because I was worried about how I would fund my university education.

I really wanted to go to university, but I couldn’t save much. Still, I tried my best.

I wrote the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination once and scored 245. I was waiting for either a rejection or an acceptance letter, but nothing came. So, I wrote the UTME again and scored 252. I chose Mass Communication and gained admission.

Even before I was admitted, I was worried because there was what was referred to as ‘Stream One and Stream Two’, with preference given to indigenes. Unfortunately, I’m from Osun State, not Lagos, so I was hoping to make the merit list. I had good WASSCE results: three As, three Bs and three Cs, so I believed I had a chance. But I was also worried because I didn’t have any connections.

It was a stressful period, and I prayed a lot. Stream One students also paid less than those in Stream Two because the latter had an additional entrepreneurial fee, which would have increased my financial burden.

I had initially wanted to attend a federal university because of the lower tuition, but when I applied to LASU, I told myself I would find a way to pay the fees, even if it meant working for them. I didn’t know how I would raise the money, but I was determined to find a way.

Eventually, my name appeared on the admission list and, thankfully, I was placed in Stream One. That solved one problem, but another remained: how to pay the N58,000 fees.

I had hoped to attend a school where I would pay about N25,000 because that was what I could realistically afford. At LASU, however, I also had to pay acceptance, faculty and medical fees, and I simply didn’t have the capacity.

How did you eventually pay the fees?

It turned out that I had an uncle on my father’s side whom I had never known. I didn’t know my father’s family, and they didn’t even know I existed. It was a complicated family background.

At some point, my mother found someone on Facebook whom she knew from my father’s side and reached out. The person was surprised and asked, “Oh, we have a child somewhere?”

Through that connection, my uncle, who lived in Germany, eventually learnt about me and offered to sponsor my education. He paid my school fees throughout my university education.

That was the miracle I had been waiting for, the opportunity to get an education and build something for myself. I later applied for a scholarship as well.

If your education was already being sponsored, what prompted you to apply for a scholarship?

In education, there are opportunities you might be capable of pursuing, but if you are not exposed to them, you may never know they exist. I didn’t have access to that information, and I didn’t have people around me who were educated to that level and could guide me. My mother is not educated; she didn’t even attend secondary school, although she can hold a conversation.

I was just a young, naive girl with a dream. I could only conceive that dream because I had seen people progress to the next level of education, university. I heard about it in the classroom, and that was how I knew it was possible.

I was an ‘A’ student throughout secondary school and could have applied for several scholarships, but I simply didn’t have the information. I attended government schools, where I was exposed to students from different backgrounds. Seeing intelligent students come together and compete gave me confidence and strengthened my belief that I could also do well at university.

I didn’t have the connections or the skills to apply for those opportunities. I was just praying and saying, “God, help me. I need money for this.” Eventually, the help came and I got into university.

What kind of student were you as an undergraduate?

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I was a good student. My first-year result was a 4.91 GPA, and I only had three Cs. I’ve always been an ‘A’ student. I knew my strengths and what my brain could handle.

I tried learning fashion design, bead-making and makeup artistry, but books were what came naturally to me. I’ve always been curious and interested in learning, so I knew I was going to be a very bookish person.

However, I also needed to work because, even though my school fees were covered, I still had to feed myself. When I got to university, I became a student union leader and started selling things. My brand was called ABC. Whenever I told people I was ABC, they became curious and wanted to know more. That gave me an opportunity to engage them and make sales.

So, I was selling things while studying. After my first year, it was clear that I was a good student. I had mostly As, with only one B in my first semester, and the second semester was similar.

After my first year, I realised I wanted to build a career in Communication. I chose Mass Communication and pursued it seriously. I couldn’t keep selling clothes while trying to focus on my studies, so I started working as an event host.

I’m a neurodivergent person, and I find that my brain works better when I’m engaged in different things. So, I hosted events and also created a 30-member team called LASU Fellows to create opportunities for other students.

I did all of this while I was a broke student, basically figuring life out as I went along.

Some students start with good grades but eventually fall below their targets. When did you realise you could graduate with a first class?

I always knew I was going to graduate with a first class. It was never in doubt. I started with a 4.91 GPA and finished with a CGPA of 4.77.

My ambition was actually to emerge as the overall best graduating student, not just the best in my department. I eventually became the best graduating student in the Department of Public Relations and Advertising for the 2024/2025 academic session. I was also awarded the Alima Atta Award last year.

What was the most difficult period of your undergraduate years?

It was not all a bed of roses. There were many ups and downs, although the good moments were significant enough to overshadow the difficult ones.

There were times when I was almost depressed. Sometimes, I had no food to eat or electricity. But my most difficult period was my final year.

Academically, it was the most challenging because I maintained strong results for about three years and was determined to finish well. I also had my final-year project to deal with. Then I secured a full-time remote job.

Balancing work and school was difficult because I needed the job to meet my basic needs. It was also my first full-time job, so I was testing the waters. I was determined to secure a job before leaving university because I didn’t want to graduate and immediately start looking for work.

I was constantly putting myself out there on social media because I wanted to be ready when opportunities came. But opportunities came with their own demands. People were not going to pay me if I didn’t work for it, and at the same time, I was trying to graduate as the best student in my faculty.

I decided to pursue both goals, but my grades dropped significantly. That was when I got my first C in an examination. I had never had a C before, and it was heartbreaking, especially because I had built a strong academic record.

That was probably the most difficult period of my life. I had to prove myself professionally while keeping up with my classes, project and other academic responsibilities.

Didn’t you feel overwhelmed at any point?

There were many times I broke down. Sometimes, I slept in school. If there was no electricity in the hostel at night, I would go to school and sleep so I could read.

But even in those moments, the thought of giving up never crossed my mind. I couldn’t give up because I felt education was my only ticket out.

What study habits or strategies helped you maintain your academic performance?

The most important thing is knowing yourself. Once you understand your patterns, what you like, when you sleep and how your brain functions, everything else becomes easier.

For me, I know my brain doesn’t function properly at night. I eat dinner around 6pm and sleep around 9pm because I know I don’t work effectively at night. I also don’t compare myself with other people because what works for them may not work for me.

Like I said, I’m neurodivergent, and I have realised that focusing on only one thing at a time doesn’t always work for me. For instance, I don’t enjoy studying in groups. I have tried it, but I would still go home and read everything again by myself.

I also read beyond my academic books. Build your vocabulary and read generally. When theories come up in class or in an examination, you can draw from things you have read in novels, books and other materials. You bring those experiences into your academic work, and it can show your lecturer that you are well-read. I believe that helped my grades.

Another strategy was reading ahead. At one point, I was reading one or two months ahead of the class, although I eventually reduced it to about a month because of my other commitments. Knowing the course outline also helped. Some lecturers even give students areas of concentration before examinations, so once you know the topics, the challenge is finding the time and discipline to study them.

Academic excellence is not just about reading. I also believe your physical and mental well-being matters. You need enough energy and motivation to study. If music helps you concentrate, use it. If certain foods help you stay focused, that can help too. I have a sweet tooth, so I sometimes eat sugary foods during examinations because reading extensively can be mentally exhausting. Once you understand yourself and what works for you, it becomes easier to perform well.