Harrylesere
Apart from emerging as the best graduate of the University of Ilorin in the 2016/ 2017 academic session, Dr. Rasheedat Alabi , a graduate of Medicine, also went home with 26 prizes. In this interview with SUCCESS NWOGU, the 22 -year – old shares her experience in school
As the best graduate in your set , how did you receive the news ?
I feel grateful to Almighty Allah for crowning my efforts with success . I feel very happy and I ’m grateful to my parents for supporting me throughout my stay in school . I am also grateful to my lecturers and my classmates for supporting me . It was not really my aspiration to become the best graduate ; I just prayed and worked hard to pass because most of the medical students were actually the best from their secondary schools . So , it was like a competition arena . However , I prayed to God to make me the best and I worked as hard as I could to make it happen. I ’m happy I made my parents proud .
You won 26 prizes , could you tell us about the prizes ?
I received awards as the best student in the Faculty of Clinical Sciences; best student in the Departments of Pathology ; Community Medicine; Paediatrics and Child Health ; Obstetrics and Gynaecology ; and Medicine and Surgery . I also received the Henry Adewoye Prize for best graduating student in Chemical Pathology ; the late Dr . Hamza Brimoh Prize for the best graduating student in medicine; Prof . Matthew Araoye Prize for the best graduating student in medicine; Abdullahi Mohammed /Ilorin Community Prize for the best graduating student in child health ; the late Dr . Olusola Saraki Prize for best graduating student in medicine; Prof . Stephen Odaibo Prize for the best graduating doctor in surgery ; Justice Mustapha Akanbi Prize for the best graduating female student in the College of Medicine; 1992- 1995 clinical set annual prize for the best clinical medical graduate at part III final MBBS ; Albert Anjorin Prize donated by the Ilorin University Medical Students Association Alumni for the best graduating student in pathology ; 1992 graduating class of medical students prize ( Albert Anjorin Prize ) for the best student in pathology ; Dr. Moshood Harouna Prize donated by the university ’s Medical Graduates Alumni Association ( USA Branch ) for the best graduating student in internal medicine; late Dr. Babatunde Awobusuyi Memorial Prize for the best student in paediatrics and child health ; 1992 graduating class of medical students prize for the best graduating student in internal medicine; 1992 graduating class of medical students prize for the best graduating student in physiology ; 1992 graduating class of medical students prize for the best graduating students in surgery ; late Adenike Samo Memorial Prize for the best graduating female medical students ; late Adenike Samo Memorial Prize for the best graduating student in paediatrics and child health , Dr. Ado Mohammed Prize for the best graduating student in community medicine and Soji Afolabi Memorial Prize for the best overall graduating medical student .
Did you have a special reading strategy that helped you to win all these awards ?
First and foremost, I prayed to God to make me the best in my class and He answered my prayers . I did not have any special reading technique when I was in school and the number of hours I read varied . If the examination was approaching , I tended to read more and I could read for close to 10 hours a day , but when there was no exam, I read for between one and two hours a day . Also , I was involved in group discussions with my classmates . We discussed our lecture notes , including questions that we thought could come out in the exams. I found that to be very helpful because it was easy to remember those things we discussed during the exams. We worked together as a team to achieve our aims and it was very helpful.
Did you have any challenge in your academics?
There were challenges. In my second year , I found that I forgot the things I read , which was unusual . In my secondary school , I used to read once or twice and I would understand. When I raised it among my peers , I realised that I was not the only one. But with constant reading , it got better . I later realised that in medical school , you have to keep reading , and I ’m happy I knew that early enough .
Apart from forgetting the things you read , were there other challenges ?
In my third year , my performance was below expectation . At that time, I was a bit discouraged but thank God for my parents , they kept encouraging me . They kept reminding me that I could do better and that I could actually make it to the top .

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