AFRICA | A brilliant young man named Damilola Aruna has achieved remarkable success by emerging as the Best Graduating Student of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Lagos.
He earned his Bachelor’s degree with an outstanding 4.83 cumulative grade point average out of 5.00, distinguishing himself academically despite numerous setbacks along the way.
Damilola's story and How He Did It
Damilola began his journey at UNILAG in 2020 after gaining admission through the catchment list, which is just 0.20 points above the cut-off mark for Lagos State. With this, he immediately understood that he would be surrounded by exceptionally bright students.
For someone who had consistently topped his class in secondary school, the transition was both humbling and motivating. At the time, his goal was just to maintain his excellence and graduate with good grades.
“I just wanted to pass my exams and do well academically. I wasn’t even thinking about becoming the Best Graduating Student. I didn’t even know what that meant until my second year,” he said.
From his very first semester in his first year at UNILAG, Damilola encountered challenges. However, he adopted a growth mindset, learning from each semester’s mistakes and striving to improve in the next. Gradually, his results kept getting better.
In his second year, when he realized how strong his CGPA was, he began to aim higher. Initially, his ambition was to graduate with a First Class. By his third year, seeing his academic standing, he set a bold target of 4.90 CGPA.
But the journey was not without obstacles. During the first semester of his fourth year, he received a C grade for the first time, and twice in the same semester.
The experience was deeply discouraging, especially as he had expected an A in one of the courses. Despite several attempts to meet with the lecturer, he was unable to resolve the issue due to the lecturer’s tight schedule.
Rather than dwell on disappointment, Damilola chose maturity. Interestingly, in his final year, the same lecturer became his project supervisor.
Instead of revisiting past grievances, he embraced the relationship positively: “I didn’t bring up the issue. I learned to appreciate him better as a mentor and a father.”
Although his target of 4.90 CGPA did not materialize due to earlier setbacks, he received something even greater: graduating as the Best Graduating Student in his department.
Reflecting on his undergraduate journey, Damilola acknowledged that many of the challenges he faced were beyond his control. Yet through perseverance, discipline, and faith, he triumphed.
He expressed heartfelt gratitude to God, his parents, friends, lecturers, mentors, colleagues, and everyone who contributed to his success: “This accomplishment would not have been possible without your involvement. Thank you so much for being there,” he said.
Summarizing his time at the University of Lagos, he simply declared: “This is the story of my undergraduate days at UNILAG, and it can be summarized in three words: GOD DID IT!!!”s she said.
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