Nigerian Breaks Academic Record With 3.98 GPA At John Hopkins University

Nigerian Breaks Academic Record At John Hopkins
University


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.
But what does he consider to be the missing links in the
education sector of Nigeria when compared with that on
offer in US, Ohuabunwa said unpredictable academic
calendar, corruption, examination malpractice and
inadequate funding were some of the problems
confronting his home country’s university sector. These,
he said, were absent in the US.

“There were a few problems with Nigerian higher
education that contributed to our emigration in 2003. The
first was the number of strikes that occurred in schools. It
took my uncle seven years to graduate with a degree that
should have taken him only four years. A second problem
was the corruption. We had heard of people going into
universities, because they paid someone to look the other
way. I also heard of a few cheating scandals, where
people would pay someone to take their exams for them
or get a copy of the exam a few days before,” he said.
But is he saying that US university system has no such
problems at all? Ohuabunwa said, “Although this
sometimes occurs in the U.S, it is less common because of
the strict security. I remember when taking the Medical
College Admissions Test, test required before one can
matriculate into medical school, each student had to get
his fingerprints taken every time we entered and left the
hall. The whole place was packed with cameras and
security staff that monitored everything we were doing.
The exam was computerised to make sure that no one saw
the test before the actual date.”

Another difference, he said, is that America rewards
hard-work while the system also emphasises on a balance
between academic life and extracurricular activities.
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.

“Two weeks ago, my grandmother passed away after a
long battle with strokes. Even during emergencies, it was
difficult for her to get to the hospital, let alone get
treatment. This is a common theme not only in the health
care system of Nigeria, but in different countries in the
world, where the poor get neglected.

“Second, Nigerian hospitals lack the infrastructure
required to compete with major hospitals around the
world. It would be an honour to one day contribute to this
transformation that is necessary for improvements in
Nigeria’s health care sector,” he said.
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/