Twenty-three-year-old Emmanuella Maduelosi, who graduated with first class honours in Medical Laboratory Science from the Rivers State University, tells OPEYEMI ADEFEMI about her academic journey
Was graduating with first class honours an easy task for you?
As the saying goes, ‘Nothing good comes easy’. This was not an exception; it took God’s grace, hard work, sacrifice and discipline to have graduated with first class. I had to train myself to read often; I did my best to ensure that I kept to my reading time; I set targets for myself and sometimes I would even have to reward myself when I met my target. I had to reduce sleeping time, when necessary; I gave up some chilling time, play time, a business which I intended doing while in school because I needed to focus. I always trained my mind to aim higher for the next semester each time I saw my semester results. I also tried to schedule group reading with some persons each time I had difficulties because no one knows it all; doing so made some topics easier for me to assimilate and assignments were done faster. It wasn’t an easy task, but it was worth it.
How did your parents feel when they saw your result?
My parents were really happy and proud that they showered me with money and gifts. My dad couldn’t stop talking about it and it has been a great honor for my parents because it feels like harvesting bountifully from a seed sown. It was a thing of joy that we called family and friends to celebrate with us on my induction day.
What attracted you to Medical Laboratory Science?
It’s the uniqueness of the profession. It is one of the most unrecognised health professions but yet it is so fundamental. It was a course I barely knew about; I got to know about it from my mum when I was seeking admission. I made enquiries and discovered interesting things I had no prior knowledge about. Medical laboratory scientists exist as the detectives of the health care field. With a broad base of expertise in chemistry, hematology, microbiology and more, they are often the first people to spot cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening conditions through analysis of biological specimens from cells to blood and other bodily fluids and this lays the groundwork for decisions regarding accurate diagnosis, which guides doctors’ decisions on the courses of treatment. So, without the medical laboratory scientist, doctors would just be guessing. It was easy for me to conclude that they were ‘heroes without cape’ and I was so eager to be part of the profession.
What do you consider as the biggest sacrifice you made for your academic success?
That will be not participating in political activities in school. I was scared of being distracted, so I paid little attention to politics in school.
Were you also an outstanding student in secondary school?
Yes, I was among the best students in secondary school. I had good teachers who gave me sound basic understanding of the various science subjects. I was also privileged to serve as the Laboratory Prefect back then, which made me even more interested the science world.
Was there anything about your growing up that prepared you for your disposition to success?
Yes, I grew up in a home where making good grades was a core value. I have elders who always strived for excellence and have been good examples. My mum was always ready to tutor us; my parents never failed to follow up on our results. So, treading on that path was almost compulsory.
What reading schedule worked for you?
To be honest, I can’t say I had a particular reading pattern. I got accustomed to reading that I could read anytime I was less busy. I just made sure I started reading early each semester and got good understanding of each course before exams.
Did you participate in any extracurricular activities?
Yes, but not much though. I was active in my fellowship and I had a part-time job. It wasn’t easy balancing everything and it’s quite easy to find excuses not to perform a task but with determination and discipline, anyone can achieve just anything. Like the Bible says, there is time for everything, I made myself to really understand that and did my best not to allow any activity to interfere with the other.
Did you have to sacrifice some relationships to help you focus?
Not at all, instead I gained more friends. I had really good friends who were all eager to do well. We supported one another and they were all willing to help when necessary. No man is an island, so it was more of iron sharpening iron. Thanks to God we all graduated well.
There are many reasons students fail; from your observation in school, what are some of them?
Distractions; some students fail to strike a balance between school and other activities and as such fail to do well in school. Poor planning for academic work and the tendency to settle for just anything is another factor. Most times when people say they need just an E or a C to pass a course, they put in little effort and at the end may even fail the course. Finance is another issue; inability to pay fees makes some people lose focus in school. These are few of the many challenges faced by students.
How would you have felt if you didn’t make first class?
I wouldn’t feel bad. I have always known myself to be academically sound but graduating with first class grade wasn’t something I always dreamt of. Thanks to God who made it possible.
Were there times you almost gave up on the goal to be the best you could be in school?
Yes, but that was at the beginning of my undergraduate days. I wasn’t so serious and failed a course in the second semester. It was really terrible for me because that was the first time I was experiencing failure in school. I cried like never before and the pain was more excruciating because I had no one to blame but myself. I hadn’t prepared adequately for the exam and felt so relaxed with the little knowledge I had about the course. I had never felt so blank like I did in the exam hall; I could already see myself failing, I was just hoping for a miracle in my result and unfortunately for me I didn’t get it.
It took prayers and words of encouragement from my family for me to be able to move on. When I finally accepted my failure, I took time to point out my mistakes to ensure they were not repeated. It was difficult going back to write the course with my juniors but I had no better option. So, I did my best to follow up on classes, submitted every assignment given, I prepared for the test like it was an exam that after going through my script the lecturer had to ask me why I was writing the course again. I wrote the exam and to my surprise I made an A in that course. It was a great achievement for me because it helped me realise I had a greater potential than I thought.
Were you told stories by anyone about how difficult it can be to graduate with first class grade?
Yes; I had seniors who told me how difficult it was to scale through some courses. I heard different stories of how almost a whole class would fail a particular course, stories of how people paid their way just to scale through some courses. There was this particular course in my third year that people said no one ever passed with an A or B; they said those who worked really hard scaled through with C and at that stage I was working really hard to improve my CGPA as I was on second class. The thought of that course gave me sleepless nights because it was over four units. I spent nights on that course just to ensure that I gave it my best, the exam was quite difficult but at the end I made an A. It gave me so much joy and I came to the conclusion that people tell stories based on their personal experiences or just things they heard. As I progressed, hearing negative stories was just a challenge for me to do better.
What was the most challenging time for you in school?
When I had to transfer from my initial course of study to Medical Laboratory Science, I had challenges but at the end I achieved what I wanted. As I mentioned earlier, I applied to study Medical Laboratory Science but I didn’t make the cut-off mark for that year, so I was offered Microbiology instead. At that point I could say I desperately wanted to be in school, so I accepted Microbiology. I got to know about transferring from one course to another course after the first year and it was the best news. The criterion was to have up to a 3.5 CGPA and have a clear record after my first year. To the glory of God I had 4.30 CGPA, which gave me the leeway to apply. After picking up the form, which took longer than expected to come out, I realised the process wasn’t just as easy as I had thought. I needed approval from the HOD, Dean and the senate committee before necessary changes would be made, and you can guess how long that would take. At a point I was confused about whether to continue with Microbiology or pursuing what I wanted because assignments and tests were already coming up. With fear and hope, I had to go through the stress of attending lectures in both departments and it was draining. I had stopped reading because I couldn’t decide on what to focus on. Thanks to God, my transfer was approved before exams started but I had a lot to cover. That semester was one of the toughest for me but the fear of failing and the desire to prove myself helped me to still make good grades at the end.
What is your advice to students who equally aim for first class?
Put God first. Know what works for you. Always focus on being better and do the best you can.
In the next few years, where do you hope to be?
I hope to be a well-established world-renowned medical laboratory scientist known for making positive impacts.
What are the limitations in your chosen field?
The fact that medical laboratory science is a health care profession that is not widely known makes it under-graded most times. We are easily confused to be doctors or nurses and this sometimes dims the spotlight and regresses the potential of the professionals. Another issue is the poor regulation of admission into school and the professional body. As much as a good number of bright secondary school leavers are offered admission into the Medical Laboratory Science undergraduate programme, a lot of students who do not fall within the level of required intellect are also admitted due to exploitation of the admission process. This results in overpopulation of the department with a mix of intellectual and non-intellectual students beyond the carrying capacity of the department/faculty’s facilities, thereby providing a learning environment that is not conducive. This also leads to massive production of scientists that the health care system is not able to accommodate and cater for. Furthermore, the little involvement of medical laboratory scientist in politics has also limited the growth of the profession. Many of the people making the decisions that affect clinical laboratories are very unfamiliar with how the laboratory works; hence, issues important to the profession, such as licensure, scholarships, MLS programme growth and laboratory billing, are handled poorly.
Who are your mentors in the field?
I haven’t really had the opportunity to have people mentor me personally but I was blessed with good lecturers who I look up to.
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