I made my financial problems ladder to go up –Pius, best student, UNICAL

Mkpouto Pius, 23, was the best graduating student of University of Calabar in the 2013/2014 academic session, having finished with a 4.79 CGPA from the Department of Genetics and Biotechnology. She tells TUNDE AJAJA how easy and challenging it was for her to achieve such feat

How was your performance in your previous schools?

I was not always leading my class in primary school, even though I was always close to the top. However, midway in my secondary school, I got to the top of my class and I worked hard to remain there. Eventually, I received some awards, including best science student, best school prefect, best behaved student, best all round graduating student. I was a very quiet person in my elementary school and I turned out to be an introvert in secondary school. And people constantly mocked me that I had a big head.

Did you believe them that your head was big?

I believed them then because then I did have a big head. Then, I used to feel bad and it would always make me stay indoors, and I rarely made friends because people were always making jest of me. It really made me feel bad. When I was a teenager, I didn’t grow very fast, so I had a big head because my body size didn’t really grow in same proportion to my head size, but now my head is not so big and my body size is considerably proportional to the size of my head. I didn’t tell my parents about it though.

But there is this perception that people with big heads are always very brilliant. Don’t you think it could have been an advantage all along?

I don’t know how true it is but I heard it when I was in secondary school. Such people believe that the head is big enough to contain everything we want. I don’t think it’s true. Intelligence is genetic. I was naturally intelligent but I had to work hard and when I got to the university, I had to work some more because of the nature of the department I found myself. So, I have always worked very hard to succeed and the resolve was self-driven. It was not easy to graduate with a first class because of the challenges that I grew up with. Even though it was easy to pass the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, I had a poor chemistry background, so I had to write the exam twice but I passed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination at the first sitting.

What was your dream as a child?

I grew up wishing to be a medical doctor.

So, how did you end up in Genetics and Biotechnology?

I had some difficulty in securing admission. Initially, I applied to a reputable federal university to study medicine. I passed both the UTME and Post UTME and even exceeded the cut-off point, but I was denied admission because of my inability to pay the fees. After losing the admission, I picked pre-degree science form and after the one-year programme, I chose to study Genetics because I felt it was close to medicine. I had 21 points out of 25, whereas the cut-off point for the course I chose was 13.

What were those challenges you grew up with?

I come from a poor background, so, basically, the challenges were financial. In my early years, we barely had money. And when I was in secondary school, I always owed school fees, sometimes for two sessions. That demoralised me a lot of times because I was always sent home for fees and I could miss school for about three days because of the inability to pay my school fees. Even when I returned to school afterwards, I still wouldn’t have the fees and sometimes, the school authorities would get tired of sending me home and would just let me be. There was always the stigma among my classmates, so anytime I was not in school, they already knew it was because of my fees. All those things demoralised me. Beyond the fees, sometimes I had to trek to school, hungry and I still had to read. That experience continued even when I was in the university. Those were the challenges and they were demoralising emotionally and psychologically. But instead of allowing them to affect me adversely, I strengthened my resolve to succeed and get my family out of poverty.

Was that why you planned to have a first class?

No. It was just that the challenges I had to go through, mainly the financial struggles, were reasons to give up, but I just decided instead of being dejected and make it a justification for poor performance, I made it a ladder to go up. So, I just wanted to succeed, even though at the time, I didn’t have first class in view. Since the inception of my department, nobody had ever graduated with a first class, so I was told it was impossible. Hence, I just wanted to succeed and do well in school. But when I was in 100 level, I planned to be the best in my department and I was, but I didn’t yet envisage being the best in the school. I had 4.5 CGPA at the end of my 100 level, so, in 200 level, I started thinking about being the best in the school, and I got there by God’s grace.

How do you intend to get your family out of poverty?

As much as I don’t see first class as a ticket to elevate one’s economic status, it does come with its own opportunities. First thing is the automatic employment for first class graduates in my school. Then, there is a presidential scholarship for first class graduates to travel and study, which could avail beneficiaries of many opportunities out there, and I hope to apply for that as well.

Could you tell us what your course is about?

Genetics is about heredity and variation. In layman’s terms, it seeks to address why you look like your parents and yet still look different and unique. Biotechnology entails the use of existing technology to better plant and animal materials and make human life easy. This is done by tinkering with the genes (the blue prints of life) of the animal or plant thus changing their make-up favourably. I enjoyed every part of the course but I found it a little challenging because practical experience was limited. Studying the chromosomes in the human body is not something you only depend on theory only.

Did you do certain things differently to have such an outstanding result?

I had a mind of my own. I never followed public opinion unless I had personal conviction. So, it was impossible for me to fall prey to peer pressure. I sacrificed my social life and I spent more time reading with little time for sleeping.

What was your typical day like?

My typical day as an undergraduate was monotonous; from my house to school and back. And while in school, I shuttled between my class and library. On the average, I was reading eight hours daily. In addition, I visited the library everyday except on Sunday when it was close and I read for about five hours.

When did you know you would be the best graduating student?

When I was in 300 level, I knew I would lead my class, but I got to know that I was the overall best graduating student in the school for the session about a year and six months after I had graduated, which was few months to convocation.

Were you social at all?

I was reading most of the time. In fact, the only real friends I had then were the ones I met in the library. So, they were people like me and I believe that our idea of fun was similar. We had fun our own way. And leisure for me was the time when I decided to take my eyes off academic work. I could read novels or make dresses, which were some of the things I love to do. I also participated in student unionism but I followed from a distance. I also attended academic conferences. Those were the only social gatherings worth my while.

How did you cope with gestures from men?

I had a strong will to succeed and I made that clear to everyone who came around. Anyone who wanted too much of my time was like a distraction. By the time they realised I was not available for relationship, they retreated. I have always dealt with the people seeking to come into my life on my terms. There were a lot of jests because some people felt I was ‘dull’ when talking about relationship, but I always knew I was the smarter person because I was always ahead in things that matter.

What are your aspirations?

I hope to become a medical doctor someday. I also want to own my companies so that I can empower people. I plan to start with a large fashion designing enterprise.

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

As a student, I would have loved to have deep researches in my field and discover new genetic trends, especially as it affects diseases that are endemic in Africa, but the system of education in our country truncated that. I strongly regret that we have such a system.

Where would you like to work?

Seriously, I don’t know yet. But eventually I will work for myself, I want to be self employed.

What is your advice to students?

I would advise students to be hardworking, persistent and have a mind of their own. Those who have failed should not give up. They should try again. In the words of Bob Gass, ‘Failing does not make you a failure, quitting does. Failing to see beyond it does, not learning from it does.’

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