UNIBADAN Graduate Speaks on His Experience After Completing Degree with First Class Honours

• A First Class graduate in Computer Science from the University of Ibadan achieved historic academic success by earning the Dean's Roll of Honour four consecutive times
• His dedication and strategic study methods transformed initial setbacks into remarkable accomplishments
• Emphasizing the importance of balancing academics and technical skills, Chukwuemeka's journey serves as an inspiring testament to hard work and perseverance

Chukwuemeka John Okparaeke, a remarkable young man from Anambra state, resides in the bustling city of Lagos.

His journey from a humble beginning to achieving unparalleled academic excellence is nothing short of extraordinary.

Graduating with a CGPA of 3.82/4.00 in Computer Science from the University of Ibadan, Chukwuemeka's story is one of dedication, resilience, and an insatiable thirst for knowledge.

Academic Excellence at the University of Ibadan

In his 100 level first semester, Chukwuemeka told Legit.ng that he attended the Dean's Roll of Honour event and made a proclamation to his friend that eventually came to pass.

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“I told my friend sitting next to me during my first ever Dean Roll of Honour event that I attended, that one day, I will also stand in front there and receive this Award. Receiving it four times and being the first in history felt really good.”

Overcoming Challenges and Building a Strategy

The key to his success, Chukwuemeka reveals, was a combination of dedication and hard work. The initial phase was challenging, with many unknowns about the school and academic survival.

In his words:

“I faced the challenge of understanding the system and what exactly is needed to do well. Not knowing these makes your academic stay in University of Ibadan very difficult, because you will just end up reading things that will not help you in the exams. It is painful to read and read and still fail, no one wants that. Another challenge you will face, if and only if you want to finish with a very good result, is that there are a lot of cover, a lot of materials to cover. Including the projects and assignments. You have to be prepared for that. Personally, the way I coped with these challenges was to read constantly. Everyday, I made sure I read. Some days 6 hours, some days 8, 10 hours depending on that day. Not everyone will follow this, but another thing I did was to not join so many activities in school.

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“I joined just one group in my Church and some small activities here and there. The reason why I brought this up is because, I have seen students with a lot of potentials that could not academically do well because they were tied down by different activities they were involved in. You have to be careful and make sure that your primary objective in University of Ibadan is your academics, if not, you may not like the outcome of your stay. In summary, I read constantly and I also relied on past question.”

Balancing Academics with Technical Skills

Reflecting on his preparation for WAEC and JAMB, Chukwuemeka emphasizes the critical role of past questions.

He advises current students to immerse themselves in past questions as they provide invaluable insights into the examination patterns and expectations.

To aspiring first class students, Chukwuemeka offers some important advice:

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“Go into school and let your primary focus be on your academics. Even if you do not have the best strategy to survive academically, as long as you put in the effort and read constantly, you will surely be successful. For those studying Computer Science, I will say this and say it again. Always main Balance.

“What do I mean. You will quickly find out that our course is not all about book, it also involves technical skills. Most companies just cares if you can do the job or not. What that means is that your technical skills is as important as your academics. So try your best to be sound in both your academics and also your technical skills.

“When you are in school session, focus on your books, do everything to pass your test and exams. And if you see free time build your technical skills. When you are out of the school session or you are in break, please please, focus 100% on your technical skills. Find an internship program, go to programming school or anything you can do to improve your skills. It will help you a lot to get by as a Computer Science student.

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“If you are good technically, it will also help you in your academics, so you are basically killing two birds with one stone. Balance is everything, never forget that.”

Source: Legit.ng