I am Rayyan Opeyemi Shobowale, a graduate of the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Social Sciences, where I finished with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.76. My time at LASU wasn't quite the university experience I had envisioned going in, but it turned out meaningful nonetheless, largely thanks to the incredible people I met along the way.
What I'm most proud of is how actively involved I stayed, not just in my academics but in extracurricular activities and a genuinely vibrant social life. I served as Speaker of my department and as Vice President of the Drug-Free Club, and I was part of the organising committee for the first-ever mental health event at LASU, an initiative that meant a great deal to me. I was also fortunate enough to receive several scholarships, including the Vice Chancellor's award.
Honestly, I consider myself lucky, I never faced any major or recurring challenges during my time here. The closest thing to a real hurdle was a technical issue with the university's ICT system in my final year that briefly affected some of my academic processes, stressful in the moment but it all worked out in the end. If anything, having a genuine passion for most of what I did meant balancing academics with everything else rarely felt like a chore.
My mum has been my biggest source of inspiration, she graduated with a First Class degree abroad, studying in a language that wasn't even her native one, and I've always found that remarkable. My own drive to be excellent at whatever I do kept that momentum going, especially after my first semester results in 100 Level came back better than I expected. From that point on, I just wanted to maintain what I had started.
One lesson I'll carry for life is that you can never be completely ready for every opportunity, when it comes, you seize it and don't second-guess yourself, because more often than not, you grow into it. My advice to current and incoming students: choose a course you're genuinely passionate about, surround yourself with people who challenge you to grow, and don't limit yourself to academics alone. Just do it, and trust that you'll learn and improve along the way.