I wanted to give up after writing JAMB four times – Timilehin Adegoju

Oluwatimilehin Adegoju was born on the 15th of October 1997 to a family of 4 children in Sokoto state. She finished her secondary school at Federal Government College Sokoto in 2013. She is a recent graduate of Wesley University Ondo, where she obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science with First Class honours. She is currently running her National Youth Service programme in Calabar. Because of the great passion she has for technology she is currently building a career in it which for now has helped her become a frontend engineer. Timilehin loves to learn new things every day. She loves music and also has a  passion to see young girls and ladies do well for themselves.

GBA: Describe yourself in a few words

Guest: I am Timilehin Adegoju. I am a goal-oriented and purpose-driven lady. I am ambitious and focused. I set goals and work towards achieving them. I also believe God has placed so much in me and I try to make sure I don’t perform below expectation.

GBA: What schools have you attended?

Guest: I attended Federal Government College Staff School from Primary One through Four. My dad pulled me out because I wasn’t performing well due to the much population in class. You could imagine that the class teacher didn’t even know I was a student in his class. I was moved to Success International School where I schooled from Primary Five through Junior Secondary School Three (JSS 3). I returned to Federal Government College Staff School for Senior Secondary School education and attended a school for a while after that before gaining admission into Wesley University Ondo for my tertiary education.

GBA: What CGPA did you graduate with from Wesley University Ondo?

Guest: I graduated with a CGPA of 3.55 on a 4.0 scale.

GBA: Can you describe your academic journey in a few words?

Guest: I don’t have a few words to describe my academic journey. It was a lot and you would pardon me for that.

I wrote WAEC first in 2013 but I failed Mathematics and Physics. I wrote the NECO exam in the same year but still failed Physics. At the same time, I wrote JAMB but couldn’t use it since I didn’t make my papers. I waited till 2014 to write WAEC again and this time, I made all my papers. I took JAMB the second time and instead of getting Medicine or Nursing which was my dream, I was given Biology. I decided to take JAMB again but I scored lower than the cut-off mark for Medicine, Nursing or Medical Lab Science. Disappointed, I went for a Pre-degree and decided to take the School of Nursing exam. I thought I failed when my name didn’t come out on the list only for my dad to press a few buttons and discovered that I scored 90% in the exam. This happened in Sokoto state where indigenes are considered before non-indigenes. I took the exam again the following year; I passed the written stage and despite being so confident I would pass the oral stage, my name did not appear on the list. By this time, I had finished the Pre-degree and opted to write JAMB for the fourth time to apply to a school in the West, UNIMED. It is interesting to note that it was at this time CBT exams were introduced and I didn’t know how to operate a computer well. Anyway, I had 210 in this exam which was quite low but nevertheless, I went for the post-utme oral exam where I told the examiner that I wanted no other course asides from Medicine. I didn’t know God was crafting a different path for me. My name didn’t appear on the list. I was frustrated and almost fell into depression. I was ready to give up. Was I going to write JAMB a fifth time? That was when Wesley University came into the picture.

GBA: Really? How did you find out about Wesley?

Guest: When my name didn’t come out on the admission list for UNIMED, a friend of my dad in Wesley told my dad about the school. When I saw the courses, the only one that took my interest was Computer science. I didn’t want to do Microbiology or Biochemistry so I opted to go for Computer Science despite having a good background in Biology.

GBA: Did you face challenges in your academic journey and how did you overcome them?

Guest: Oh yes, I did. Asides from the ones I’ve already talked about, I faced challenges studying Computer Science because I had a good biology and chemistry background instead. Remember, how I mentioned that I didn’t make Maths in my WAEC? I wanted to quit Computer Science; it was so confusing and frustrating. I remember taking a FORTRAN class in 200 level that made me cry to the H.O.D’s office. It was a lot. However, I overcame those challenges through the encouragement from the H.O.D and by taking it to God in prayers.

GBA: What fueled your academic motivation?

Guest: A senior student at the time fueled my academic motivation. Getting into school, I was tempted to be a people-pleaser because some of my mates thought my own was too much. This senior student, Sis Yemika by name, encouraged me and made me understand that I needed to remain focused and that the end result will speak. It did speak, at the end and Im grateful to God and her.

GBA: Who is your academic mentor?

Guest: My academic mentor is Mr. Effiong, the H.O.D I mentioned earlier. I’ll forever be grateful for his impact in my life and academics.

GBA: What tips worked for you as a student?

Guest: I understood myself so I knew I had to read repeatedly to understand and digest a concept. I loved reading in the library because it was quiet. I also made it a habit to read as we were taught. I didn’t wait till the exam period to read because I’d just fail if I did that.

GBA: You’re a graduate of Computer Science, what can you say about being a lady in tech?

Guest: I love this. This is a beautiful question. Okay, I’ll start by repeating what my boss once told me where I worked for my SIWES. He told me that I should never join the masses to say there is no job, especially for the career path I find myself on where there are so many job opportunities but only a few people capable of handling such job positions. I am privileged to be a lady in tech at a time like this because the world is becoming more and more digital. I even believe it’s the reason God brought me into this path. As a lady in tech, I see myself as a solution provider. It’s an opportunity to associate myself with great minds and learn digital skills. Presently, I’m a front-end engineer but I believe I can do so much more. I also aim to break the bias by informing other ladies around me about the possibilities in tech and encouraging them to venture into it.

GBA: What tips can you give to students still in school?

Guest: Every student has to set a goal. It was something I did and it helped me. At times, I wanted to give up, I would remember the goals I had set. I would also advice that students should prepare well for exams. Read well before the exam and write well in the exam. Don’t rush. Take your time. Another is that students should read as often as possible and not only during the exam period. Do not rush while reading. Read as if you’ve never prayed and pray as if you’ve never read. Have an excellent mindset. Think like someone that wants to get to the top. You cannot rise above your mindset. Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. Thank you.

GBA: Thank you, Timilehin. There, you have it, readers. Nothing good comes easy. Are there lessons you’ve learnt from this, please drop them in the comment section.