Ayomide Olubunmi, who graduated with a CGPA of 4.77 from the Department of Communication and Media Studies, Lagos State University, tells AYOOLA OLASUPO about losing her father as an infant, growing up hawking on the streets of Lagos, and how she overcame financial hardship to emerge as the department’s best graduating student

Your first class came against the backdrop of a difficult childhood. What drove you to excel despite the odds?

I’m currently a communication strategist at a tech company. I started working at the company this year. I’ve worked in different sectors, including PR agencies and mainly the technology industry, with companies that develop software products.

Graduating with a first-class degree is simply evidence of what is possible. Given where I came from, it wasn’t easy to get out. For me, education was my gate way out, not just physically from my environment but mentally as well. It shaped my thinking, what I stand for, my exposure and my experiences, all of which have contributed to the person I am today.

I needed higher education to break out of my circumstances. I wanted to embody excellence, be different and stand out rather than simply follow the crowd. I knew I had to work hard to achieve that. I think the first class came along the way as I put in the effort.

For me, having a first-class education is evidence of what is possible for people who come from backgrounds like mine.

You have described education as your “only ticket out”. What were you determined to change about your life through education?

I come from a single-parent home. My father died when I was five months old, about 25 years ago, so it has always been my mother and me. I grew up in a slum and, as a teenager, I hawked sachet water on the streets.

My mother also sold things on the streets. She cooked noodles for people and did different jobs to survive. At some point, we slept in a shop. It was a difficult way to grow up.

Education was my ticket to seeing things beyond where I came from. Higher education, in particular, exposed me to people and helped me see what I could achieve regardless of my background. Beyond what is taught in the classroom, you learn from your friends’ experiences, what they are doing and what they are capable of. I wanted that exposure. I knew there was something beyond my immediate environment; I just needed to get there.

i finished secondary school in 2019, when I was almost 18, which was relatively late. I then took a gap year to teach and raise money because I was worried about how I would fund my university education.