Twenty-five-year-old Joy Ahiakwo, the overall best-graduating student of Industrial Chemistry from Caleb University, Lagos State, shares how financial setback made her drop out of the University of Illinois, Chicago, before emerging the most celebrated graduate of her set at Caleb University
Can you tell us about yourself?
I’m Joy Ahiakwo. I’m 25 years old, and the second of four children. I’m a believer.
Which school did you attend and what did you study?
I graduated from Caleb University. I studied Industrial Chemistry. I also studied Biochemistry at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Those were the two tertiary institutions I attended.
What CGPA did you graduate with at Caleb University?
I graduated with a 4.98 CGPA out of 5.0 and I was the overall best-graduating student for the Class of 2024.
Being the best-graduating student at Caleb University, what strategies and study habits helped you in achieving that?
I like Chemistry; several things that I did didn’t seem like too much work or too stressful. There were many times I felt like I had to read a specific subject, and that was the first thing that came up in my test or exam.
About the things that I did; I started reading my notes early. I found my reading to be fun. So, while I was on campus, I read every night. My reading started from like 7pm to 10pm, and when I got to 300-level, it changed to 7pm to 11pm, and it was fun to read. I read every night. I guess I started taking breaks in my reading in the second semester of the 300 level.
I watched movies on Fridays. I didn’t always read the whole weekend. I still followed my usual reading hours of 7pm to 11pm. So, the rest of my weekend was for whatever I wanted, like playing with friends, watching movies, doing laundry, and whatever it was.
It was easier for me to grasp when my teachers were explaining something to me than trying to struggle to read by myself later on, and one thing that really helped me was that I had a good relationship with my teachers. When I was in school, I wasn’t distracted by social life. Although I was in a relationship, I kept my mind focused.
Did you mean you were in a relationship with someone while on campus?
I don’t know whether to say yes or no. In my 200-level, I had some sort of thing with somebody, and then it ended. In 300-level, I got into a serious relationship with someone outside my school. That wasn’t like a factor, and he wasn’t disturbing me because he was also in school. So, we both knew that we had books to read, and it wasn’t a distraction for me.
I tried not to let that part of my life affect my studies. I always kept saying to myself that my dad was paying school fees for one person and he just wanted only one result, and I was afraid and didn’t want to go home with a bad result. I just kept my head and remained focused.
Why did you change your reading schedule in 300-level?
I was a direct entry student in 200-level. So, for the whole of 200-level and the beginning of my 300-level, I was reading every single day and that did not mean that I wouldn’t do anything else. I was still reading from 7pm to 10pm. But before 7pm, I could be watching a movie or playing. In 300-level, I wouldn’t say I became lazy, but I just decided to become more relaxed and to calm down more. So, I started taking Fridays off.
On Fridays, I wouldn’t read my books and that was what I meant by the break. Then in 400-level, we were taking fewer subjects, but the coursework was much. Instead of reading from 7pm to 10pm, we still had projects to do and personal things I was working on. With that, I increased my reading from 7pm to 11pm in 400-level. On those Fridays, I probably would have slept early or just watched movies into the night or just chatted with my friends. I just made sure I had that one day off instead of concentrating on books only.
Beyond academics, what extracurricular activities or leadership roles were you involved in at Caleb University?
I try to define myself as a social butterfly when I’m at home because I like to go out to have fun. But when I was in school, Caleb University, didn’t have many social events. We only had a departmental week. They took away several things, which is good. But I believe that when you’re in a university, it is the best chance to try out as many things as possible and find your grounding, but we didn’t have that.
So, there weren’t many distractions. There were those participating in sports, and there was a drama club, but none of those things appealed to me. So, I can’t say I was into anything until my 400-level when they started incorporating final year week, Vice Chancellor’s Cup, a sporting tournament between departments. There were lots of things the school was incorporating at the time, and because it was my last semester on campus, I decided to at least be able to say this is my last time.
When I was in Caleb University, I had some sort of social life. So, there wasn’t anything extra-curricular that I was doing, but I did some crafts because I sewed clothes, I made beads. I did a lot of things. I just didn’t have that outlet in the school. Maybe different people have different experiences, but my experience was that I didn’t have that (extracurricular). I don’t hate them for that because it was just my experience.
Did you have your secondary education in Nigeria?
Yes, I had my secondary education in Ibadan, Oyo State, at Lifeforte International School. I think in one of the first Chemistry exams we wrote, I scored the highest.
Can you describe a challenging academic moment you faced and how you overcame it?
It’s not that I don’t like calculation but it’s my least favourite part of Chemistry. I think something I thought was difficult or a challenge I went through at Caleb University was just the fact that some teachers expected you to just cram and vomit whatever you’ve crammed for them during exams, but for me, I like to understand something.
If I’m learning something, I like to understand why I’m learning it. So, if you change it in the exam, I can still attempt the question properly. At University of Illinois Chicago, we always applied. I also did Cambridge in my high school, and it was also an application of the learning, but because WASSCE had to do with cramming, I didn’t do it. So, I’m just used to learning something to the core and then applying it.
There was a specific course we did, and I complained to my dad that the teachers wanted us to cram and get the same answer as his. I remember I complained to my dad that I was just upset about it. How can he make me cram? But my dad said, “If you’re good at applying yourself, that’s great but if there’s any place that requires you to cram, just amend and do that instead of trying to prove your rights, and then making it seem like you’re not as smart as other people because you failed to cram.” I took that to heart and for that man’s course, I just crammed.
Would you say your parents also play a pivotal role in your success?
My parents and pastors played a very huge role. When I first got into Caleb University, it was sort of difficult for me to adjust because I was used to University of Illinois Chicago. My life was sort of privatised. I was used to that system of being spoiled and here, I was now in Nigeria. But my dad tried to make me as comfortable as he could. I remember I once complained that the hostel was too hot and the following weekend, my dad brought me a standing fan. So, people still remember me as the girl who bought a fan in 200-level.
There was a time he wanted to get me a fridge because I complained about drinks that were not cold. Also, I needed a dress for an event, and he drove down to the school with the dress. Another thing is that I didn’t start taking Uber to and from school until my 400-level. I was always getting picked up and dropped off from my 200-level to 300-level, despite coming from Ikorodu.
I felt like he tried to make my stay as comfortable as possible. I told somebody about it and the person said my parents were trying to drop and pick me up on campus. It didn’t seem like they were doing too much because I was just used to it, so they helped me. Even when I was down, I would complain about my courses. My dad would be there for me even on spiritual matters. I could always call him. He was even saying I must call him at least once every week. He also spent a lot on my school fees, feeding and others. So, they were pivotal in my journey at Caleb University and I’m very grateful.
Why did you drop out of the University of Illinois, Chicago?
It was finance. At the time, what UIC did was that they would allow you to register for a semester. By the time you are done paying for the semester, they open up your registration for the next semester. Your payment is done after you register. With that, I took a semester and then a summer semester. Then, I wasn’t able to pay the fee. I wasn’t able to register for the next semester. I remember someone said she thought I was too relaxed when I was at UIC.
Was your dad able to pay the 50 percent?
No, he wasn’t able to. They were like, before they could spread the fees across, we had to pay something. I think their hands were tied at that time. I think UIC had a scholarship page, but most of the time, whenever I checked the page, they didn’t have a lot of options for international students from Africa. They had options for students from Asia and Middle Eastern regions, but they didn’t have a lot for Africans.
How did you navigate that difficult period and stay focused on your goals?
I honestly don’t know how I pulled through. There were some days I cried badly. I quit a sales job where I was working. I didn’t have any steady income, and it was just a lot for me because I saw my friends graduate from the same UIC. I felt it was God because I couldn’t explain how I pulled through.
By January 2020, it dawned on me that it was getting more serious than I thought and I was looking for solutions everywhere. I reached out to the school directly, trying to see if I could get scholarships, loans and many things I was trying to do, but nothing clicked. Even the GoFundMe raised some money. I was able to pay some of the money I owed, but nothing permanent clicked. I think by May 2020, that was when COVID hit and there was lockdown, I started to think deeply about what was next.
Source: Punch
