I am Lawal Samuel Temidayo, a graduate of the Department of Nursing Science in the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.76. My journey through LASU has been memorable, every moment, good or bad, has summed up to this present point, and it has truly been an amazing ride.
What I'm proudest of is placing best in the RN professional examinations held earlier this year. I put in real effort and real time toward that result, and getting it proved to me that dedication genuinely pays off. I held a fair number of positions along the way, most notably as 36th LASUSU IKEJA Assistant General Secretary, alongside serving as head of my class between 100 and 200 level and as a member of NSSLC, the senate body for nursing at LASUCOM. I also spearheaded the NUNSA LASUCOM Academic Symposium 8.0 and the first-ever LASUSU IKEJA Debate 1.0, and contributed to the LASUSU Leadership Conference and the 7th and 9th NUNSA LASUCOM academic symposiums.
My major challenge came in 200 level, when accommodation at LASUCOM was genuinely difficult to secure, and it showed in my performance that year. I commuted from home in Ikorodu for weeks before finally getting a cubicle to stay in, and it wasn't until 400 level that I got proper hostel accommodation. Through it all, I kept academics as my primary aim and treated other activities as secondary, which meant missing out on a lot of social life, but I see that as the price worth paying for excellence.
I'd say I'm my own biggest source of inspiration, the drive to constantly be better than who I was yesterday. Along the way I picked up Nunsite of the Year in 300 level, was a two-time recipient of the IDPIL Scholarship and Bursary Award, and received the IKODASS award. The lesson that will stay with me for life is that life humbles you in ways you cannot imagine, the "it can never be me" moments will find you too, in ways you can't fully explain.
My advice to current and incoming students is to just do what works for you, stay true to yourself, and dare to be different, because when you really think about it, what could possibly go wrong. As I remind myself often: memento mori, memento vivere, remember that you will die, so remember to live.