ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: The Dark Sides Of My First-Class Story​

If you want the academic highlights, you must learn to get comfortable with the silent lowlights.​

For me, it was studying mineral metabolism and amino acid pathways long after everyone had gone to bed. It was analyzing manganese and magnesium interactions in Clarias gariepinus until the numbers blurred but I refused to blink first. It was rewriting discussion sections again and again because “good” was never good enough. It was holding back my tears when, as a lower-income student in an elite university, life became unbearably dark. It was doing background research not just on the lecture and the lecturer but also on the relationship between the lecture and the lecturer.​

It was me sitting over the notes of difficult lectures, losing track of time, checking all textbooks and YouTube videos that offered a clearer perspective until I could not only understand the concept but also demonstrate that I understood it. It was me listening to recordings of some lectures in the dark, just to ensure I wasn’t missing any detail that was important. It was me preparing for exams in betting shops because that was the only place on my street with both constant light and an open charging policy.​

It was me trekking long distances to school as early as 5:30am (sometimes at life risk) because I couldn’t afford the fare required to take me to school. It was me still showing up to classes, leading presentations, acing tests, winning competitions, and leading the faculty without once framing my story as one of pity or victimhood. It was me coming home to cook the leftover raw rice with just salt, red oil, and pepper — so much so that my kid sister teases that version of me with “Rice, Salt, and Pepper.” It was me sometimes not being on speaking terms with family (who should’ve been my ride-or-die anchor) because I was deemed a rebel. Yes, we could go on till tomorrow, and we still wouldn’t exhaust the hell I conquered daily for 5YEARS to become the Benedicta Otoibhi you admire, envy, h-te or respect!​

5.0 GPA six times. 4.60 CGPA. Best Graduating Student in Department & Faculty. One of the Best Graduating Students in the University. Leader of an academic community of close to 10,000 Nigerian and non-Nigerian students. Speaker on renowned stages. One of the fiercest and most effective academic excellence advocates. Novel voice in the education industry. You name them…​

Heavens that could only be created through hells.​

Reminds me of this quote by the legendary 20th Century Psychologist, Carl Jung: ​

“Your tree cannot touch heaven unless your roots reach down to hell.”​

What hell are you willing to endure for the heaven that you want to touch? What lowlights are you willing to stumble through for that highlight you’ve always dreamed of?​

Highlights don’t create themselves. Dreams don’t fulfill themselves. You negotiate your way to fulfillment and creation by meeting the action-standard set by the universe of outcomes. No other f — king way. Send those roots down to the hell your heaven demands!​

And yes, soon you’ll see, when you stand to share the story, that those moments of conquered adversity will strike you as the most beautiful — the most real — the most true.​

Want that A? Want that first-class GPA? Do all that an A and a first-class demand of you. And that’s beyond just working hard — everyone works hard. It’s about working right. It’s about understanding the cold science of the academic success that you desire and then acting accordingly.​

Not many students are patient with the science. That’s why they never earn the distinction. Distinction has always been the heaven that demands the hell of you being rightly distinct in your approach to the academic game — a devotion that comes with its cost.​

A filtering cost that makes distinction so treasurable that it cannot simply be given but MUST be earned. That’s why you NEVER hear “they gave me an A” as much as you hear “they gave me a C.” Only one is earned.​

My parting message: Let your lowlights find you creating your earned highlights. Let the time and furnace of hell find you refining your heaven’s gold. Got it?

I’m rooting for you!