I am AbdulQuadri Olamilekan Daranijo, a graduate of Language, Arts, and Social Science Education in the Faculty of Education. My academic sojourn was truly fulfilling, I didn't merely mark semesters on a calendar, I experienced the universality of university through rigorous exposure to turning paper ideas into working systems, and pushing past the stereotypes forcibly worn by my discipline, Arabic Education, by leading student organizations while self-sponsoring my education through work.
My biggest achievement is simply celebrating the completion of this academic journey alive, hale, and hearty, every other feat, including the First Class Honours and leadership positions, wouldn't have been possible had I not lived to witness this moment, having escaped several fatal accidents along the way. I served as HOC of my unit, General Legal Counsel of JCIN-LASU, Tutor at Excel Minds, Vice President of the Association of Arabic Students, and eventually President of TIMSAN-LASU, and I'm particularly proud of leading Arabic Education students into the HOD Cup tournament, proving we're socially active, collaborative, and competitive too.
Experiencing a carryover in one of my most-loved courses in second year was devastating, and it inspired me to write a published poem, 'Seeds of Effort,' asking whether every effort equates results. Every result generated from an effort is substantial for growth, no matter how minimal, a lesson that will stay with me. I won Most Outstanding Student of 200 Level from the Faculty of Education Muslim Students Award, a mentorship from the First Class Muslim Foundation, the KNOSK Low Cost Education Innovation Fellowship, and co-presented a research paper at the Lagos Studies Association Conference.
My mum has been my first and biggest source of inspiration in all my endeavours, with service to humanity following close behind.
My advice to current and incoming students is to discover your why and leverage it intentionally, and to change your circle, or change how your circle influences you, because a circle is concentric in nature. As my personal motto goes: reserve in your heart a seat for everyone.