A 22-year-old Nigerian has emerged one of the top graduating students
of John Hopkins University in the United States. He obtained a Grade
Point Average of 3.98 out of a possible 4.0 to earn a degree in
Neurosciences, SEGUN OLUGBILE writes.
A 22-year-old Nigerian, Emmanuel Ohuabunwa, has made history at John
Hopkins University, United States of America. Ohuabunwa from
Arochukwu, Abia State, has done the nation proud by becoming the first
black man to make a Grade Point Average of 3.98 out of 4.0 to bag a
degree in Neurosciences in the university. He was also adjudged as
having the highest honours during the graduation that was held on May
24 this year.
For his efforts, he has won a scholarship to Yale University to pursue
a degree in medicine. Besides, he has been inducted into Phi Beta
Kappa Society, a prestigious honour group that features membership of
17 US Presidents, 37 US Supreme Court Justices, and 136 Nobel Prize
winners.
According to Wikipedia, The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic
honour society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence
in the liberal arts and sciences" and induct "the most outstanding
students of arts and sciences at America's leading colleges and
universities."
It was founded at The College of William and Mary on December 5, 1776,
and thus it is the oldest honour society for the liberal arts and
sciences and among the oldest undergraduate societies in the US.
In an online interview with our correspondent, Ohuabunwa, who was born
in Okota, Lagos and attended Lilly Fields Primary School, Lagos, said
he left Nigeria after his junior secondary school education at Air
Force Comprehensive School, Ibadan, Oyo State.
"My parents moved the whole family when I was 13 years old. I was
about to begin SS1 at Air Force, Ibadan. When I got to the US, I was
enrolled with my age mates, which meant at 13, I was in middle school.
I went to Fondren Middle School, which was in the middle of the
ghetto. That was one of the darkest years for me because I encountered
a lot of peer pressure. Some of the students, ignorant about Africa,
bullied me and called me names such as 'African booty scratcher'
because to them, Africans were dirty and scratched their butts all the
time.
"Some asked me if I lived in mud huts and ate faeces for breakfast. I
remember one day, when I was walking to the school bus, a boy came
from behind and punched me in the face, called me an African and
walked away. It took everything in me not to retaliate. I knew that
God had put me in the U.S for a purpose and it did not involve
fighting or selling drugs or doing the wrong things.
"My experience during that year gave me a thick skin. I learned to
stand for what I thought was right even when the opposition seemed
insurmountable. I also learned to look at the positive in all
situations. Even though these kids were bullying me, I was still
gaining an opportunity to school in America and nothing would stop me
from making the best of this opportunity.
"The shocker was that the kid that punched me in the face was black. I
would have expected the blacks to be nicer to me. Nevertheless, I
don't blame those kids because they were ignorant about Africa. All
they knew about us was the stuff they had watched on TV or
documentaries, showing primitive African tribes, living in the jungle
and making noises like monkeys.
"In regards to the whites, there might have been some minor episodes
but again I don't blame them for it because it is a problem with
stereotypes," he said.
But in spite of this humiliation and racial prejudice against him, the
first in a family of three was not discouraged. He faced his studies
and was always coming top in his class. After he completed his middle
school education, he passed the entrance examination to DeBakey High
School for Health Professions. It was at this school that his interest
in neurosciences and medicine started.
"By the second year of high school, we were able to interact with
doctors, nurses and other administrators in the hospital. The more I
learned about medicine, the more it felt like the thing God was
calling me to pursue and by being in the US I got a lot of people to
support me to do this. Even though in high school, I got to see
first-hand what it meant to be a doctor. We studied advanced anatomy
and physiology, learned medical terminology, and learned important
skills, such as checking blood pressure, pulse rate, and many more.
"I knew I wanted to go to the best school in the US. I had heard that
Johns Hopkins Hospital had been ranked the number one hospital in the
US for the past 21 years and I wanted to be in that environment.''
Worried that his parents might not be able to sponsor him to the
university, Ohuabunwa purposed to work very hard. He did and when the
result of the PSAT came, he performed so well that he won the National
Achievement Scholar.
By virtue of this award, he received certificates of recognition from
various organisations including senators from the Congress of both
Texas and the US. He also received scholarship from the University of
Houston; Rice University, Texas A&M Honors College and many more.
He had also won the Principal's Award during the annual awards
ceremony at DeBakey High School.
"During our graduation ceremony at DeBakey, I also won the Award for
the Most Outstanding Senior Young Man and the student volunteer award
for my volunteer activities in the State of Texas," he said.
But his breakthrough came when he won the Bill and Belinda Gates
Foundation full scholarship to any university of his choice. He worked
hard and gained admission to Johns Hopkins University to study
Neurosciences.
But why Neurosciences, Ohuabunwa said, "I studied Neuroscience,
because I was fascinated with the brain, its control of our behaviours
and how various diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, lead to a
decline in its activity. I also minored in Psychology because I wanted
to understand disorders in the psyche. What causes bipolar disorders
or schizophrenia. I did not just want to label them as crazy but to
understand what causes these conditions and how we can treat them,''
he explained.
On how he won the scholarship to Yale, Ohuabunwa said his 3.98 GPA in
Neurosciences, and many awards he had won and God's grace, contributed
to his winning the scholarship.
"As at the time of my application for medical school, I had a 3.98 GPA
of a 4.0. This made me the only black student inducted into the
prestigious Phi Beta Kappa. I was also awarded the Becker Family
Scholarship for being the most outstanding student in the Neuroscience
major at Johns Hopkins University. Furthermore, by God's grace, I took
the MCAT and scored in the top five percentile.
"That, combined with my hours of volunteer service in different
hospitals across the US allowed me to gain acceptance into every
medical school I applied to, including Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins,
Columbia, and Cornell. As the time came to make a decision, I had
narrowed it down to Harvard and Yale. Both schools, I enjoyed
visiting. Nevertheless, while my parents prayed, they asked God to
give us a sign of what school to attend. A few days later, I received
a letter from Yale Medical School, offering me a full ride scholarship
for all four years. That was the sign from God," he said.
But would he come back to Nigeria after the completion of his
programme, he said yes.
"I am absolutely interested in the health care policy decisions in
Nigeria. Because there are many changes that need to occur, I will not
rule out the possibility of coming back after my studies, in order to
join hands with the leaders to make these changes possible.''
He added that his ambition is to become a medical doctor specialising
in brain surgery.
He, however, advised Nigerian youths who have the wherewithal, to go
abroad to study. Ohuabunwa also called on wealthy Nigerians to invest
more in the education of the poor rather than in acquisition of
material things.
Ohuabunwa, however, said that his parents, who he described as his
greatest role models, contributed a lot to his academic feat through
Godly training, counsel and guidance. He also did not forget the
impact that his short stay at Air Force school had on him.
"I was definitely not the brightest at Air Force. At that time, I felt
like I spent more time running away from seniors than focusing on my
studies. Nevertheless, I learned three things at Air Force that have
served me well in the US. I learned discipline, adaptability and
resilience. These attributes helped me a lot in US," he said.
http://www.punchng.com/education/nigerian-breaks-academic-record-at-john-hopkins-university/
