LASU Alumnus, Seyi Omotosho Speaks On His Journey To Bagging A PhD In Top 100 Universities Without A First Class

The Genesis
When I was an undergrad at Lagos State University, in Lagos Nigeria, I knew one thing for certain, amid all odds, that I wanted to become a medical physicist, and then go on to the professorship level. As a fresher (as new undergraduate students are often called) I set a clear goal for myself to reach the top echelon of my field of interest. To help my journey, I picked my friends like beans, tightened my belt and fixed my eyes on the race. I told it to God secretly in prayer and inspired myself to have great confidence. “I am made for this”, I told myself.

Soon into the first semester of 100 Level, I discovered my talent for writing. I loved poetry in particular. I would write poems day and night, show them to my friends and we would just laugh over them. Initially, it was just past time but soon after, I joined the Literary Voices group at the Department of English then anchored by the award-winning public speaker and writer, Akinsiwaju Sanya, an amazing talent. Akin, as we called him, took a special interest in me and gave me room in the group to express myself. The support I got from other members of the group propelled me further. All of them in English and, of course, a few others from other disciplines.

I took writing more seriously. Anyone who was there when I was in LASU could testify that with the right mentorship, my pen on paper was a delight to the group whenever we gathered on Wednesday evenings. I would go on to win my first international prize years later and then came second in the Rural Oklahoma Poetry Contest in the US. The group’s impact on me was huge as I went on to be shortlisted for the Wakaso Poetry Prize in 2021 and was among the 20 shortlisted poets for the Lagos London Poetry contest in 2022. As a student at LASU, I also represented the English poetry group for poetry performances on different occasions.

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I juggled poetry writing and studying my physics courses. Being largely responsible for fending for myself, I also did some part-time teachings to support the tokens mum (and my siblings) could offer me at that time since my father is late. I am indebted to my mentors on campus, particularly Mr Seun Gbanja. I remember visiting him sometimes when I was broke. I had known him since my very first weeks on campus because he was helping me edit my poems and guiding me, being a poet himself. Soon after our meeting, he started mentoring me. As a junior worker at the University, he didn’t earn much at that time but he made sacrifices for me. He told me I could do whatsoever I fixed my mind to do. He never forgot the God factor. In all, whenever he could afford to, he supported me with money. But there were days that I had exhausted everything from home, could not find a menial work to do and Mr Seun was away on an official mission for the university. Those were times I probably spent the entire day without food. However, even with challenges, I never doubted my dreams. Though it shook and became weary and sick, it never died.
By my third year, my other ‘hustles’ affected my grades terribly. Truth is, I wasn’t surprised. Having to juggle classes, attend meetings with Literary Voices and run my part-time work had consequences. I missed some very important classes because sometimes I was far away working, even though at that time there was nowhere too far for me to work as long as it guaranteed a small change in my pocket. It was better than begging and begging is one thing I have an aversion for.

In the face of my financial situation and the reality that only a miracle could help me achieve my set goal at that rate, I began to think deeply about stabilizing my plans for the future. After much prayer and introspection, I decided that my best bet was to apply for scholarships to study abroad for my Master’s immediately after graduation. That was in year 2018 and I had one more year to finish my first degree program at that time. But I knew that there were several requirements to getting a scholarship abroad, one of which was getting a first class. Looking at my grades, I wasn’t going to get a first class.

No First Class
I finally graduated a year later without a first class. I felt down but told myself that it wasn’t the end of my life. Thankfully, my colleagues testified to my brilliance and reliability. The lecturers too affirmed that position. Those affirmations strengthened my belief. I wasn’t a poor student after all. I prayed to God to direct my path and went for the National Youth Service Corps program—a one-year compulsory national service for Nigerian graduates. During my national service in Imo State, I swore to my colleagues that I would never take a job which paid lesser than N50k after graduation. I even boasted that ‘my money’ starts from N100 to N150k. When the service was over and I started applying for jobs, the only job I got was an offer to be a school teacher, which paid N30k only per month. I hated to take it, but it was the only one available.

Nonetheless, I was still confident that the job was for only the time being, I would soon hit my goal.

It wasn’t long after service when I came back to Lagos that I met Pastor Lawrence and my life changed forever. A true man of God. Pastor Lawrence was God-sent to my life. He received me like his own son and taught me life lessons. He was the one who first prophesied that I had a global glory. He not only supported me with prayers and quality pieces of advice, but he also gave me some money when I was to travel. He groomed me into the man that I am today. I am forever grateful to him.

Bagging A PhD Scholarship
By December 2020, I braced myself for the long, sure-to-be-challenging journey of applying for graduate studies abroad. The first feedback I got – and I still remember it – was a rejection from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, US. The application was completed a day before, and the following day, I received a rejection letter. That was on December 30, 2020. However, soon after that, I began to receive a load of admission letters from schools like Western Illinois University, Macomb, in the US, the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany and the University of Surrey in the UK all for Masters in Physics. While waiting for the US and preparing to attend Western Illinois, I got to know about an opening for a PhD program in Medical Physics at the University of Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo is in the top 100 in the world according to the Best Global Universities ranking. The ranking immediately got me interested not minding whether or not I could get selected. At this period, I believed I could do anything. I checked the school’s website and got into a conversation with Prof Cardoso. It happened so fast, almost unusually for a faculty to have such immediate interest in a prospective student.

After working with Prof George Cardoso for a few weeks, he recommended I try out a direct PhD application. It was unbelievable, a competency taken too far! Prof Cardoso said my CV was excellent and I could be fortunate to be selected if I could do the work. He assured me I had a chance. Before then, it never crossed my mind that I could be admitted into a PhD programme directly having not graduated with a first class. And while I believed strongly in God and was confident of his favour, for once, I felt the invitation was too big a mission. However, I put it in anyway.

When the selection procedure was released, it turned out that I needed to go through three stages. The first was where the candidate and his advisor would team up to write a compelling research proposal. The second was when the candidates will sit for an exam, scoring at least six in a total mark of ten. And the last stage was the interview. And here is the shocker: each stage was eliminatory. The exams, we were made aware, would contain 12 questions set from Biochemistry, Mathematics/Computer programming and Physics. And we would be asked to answer any five we desired from these twelve. It was to be held in September 2022 and we were now in May. I thought if I failed, I may have no other choice but to step up on my Western Illinois dream. But, no, I knew this was what I wanted all my life! A direct PhD when I didn’t even have a first class? At the prestigious Sao Paulo? To top it up, I was told if I was admitted to this doctorate program, I will be the first Nigerian to ever get this honour in the history of the school.

Without wasting time, I started studying for the exam towards the end of May. It was the hardest I had studied for an exam in my life. I let go of WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media platforms for this period. I studied almost every day (for about 8 hours) right from May till September. It was a difficult time. But of all things, I surely didn’t want to fail.

As though that was not enough, the admission committee let me know that I had to be among the top two in the applications to be able to receive a combined PhD offer and a full scholarship. Of course, I knew I had what it took to get in, but it looked as if every applicant had everything it took. Everyone was very good. I have never been in that kind of situation before. To make matters worse, I was going directly to a doctorate with a BSc whereas many of them already had their Master’s and series of publications in recognized journals. I had none. It was clear my chance was minimal. It was certain, therefore, that I must perform extraordinarily well to outdo the other applicants. And now, if I by any chance was admitted, concerns about being among the top were also there, for I needed a scholarship as much as I needed an admission.

THE EXAM AND THE SELECTION PROCESS
September 19th morning came with a strange cold. My eyes were boiling. It was the first exam I had ever written that I wanted to pass. Somehow, I knew I was going to pass as I covered every part of the syllabus. This day, I prayed to God that he should only let me pass and not otherwise. I wasn’t sure I could get over it for a long time if I failed. To pass, candidates must score at least 6/10.

Prof A. A. Okunade, whom I will forever be grateful to, encouraged me throughout the process. Having agreed to be my coordinator, he had had conversations with the selection committees and all was set. He set up my questions that morning and wished me all the best.
I answered the required 5 questions completely and judged myself immediately. Of the 5 questions, each question carrying 2 points (making 10 in total), I thought I must score at least 8. The result was released and I scored the exact mark required: 6/10. I passed, yes, but I scored the least mark in this stage and there was nothing to celebrate yet. What would be the use of getting in without a scholarship? But I kept hope, waiting to remedy this low score with my research proposal and interview. After getting my exam grade, I quickly arranged a meeting with my advisor, Prof Cardoso. He gave me a list of what to expect from the panel in the interview, how to answer questions, and very importantly the things I can say that would interest each of the panel members (his clear observations from many years of working with them). I acted upon his opinions and aced the interview.

I was quite self-assured that I would be selected. On that day, the three professors who interviewed me couldn’t hide their admiration. One of them said in the middle of the interview, “I think he knows what he’s doing”, after providing a constructive answer to a question about why I wanted to be a researcher. The other two agreed simultaneously, ‘Yes, he does.’

When we were done that morning, I was told to await the final result from the university secretary in the evening. It was a long day. The wait from morning to evening seemed like forever. The hour finally came when it was about 5 pm Sao Paulo time. The cold of that September night still blows my hair to date. Of the large number of people who had applied to the best university in South America, three names were selected for a PhD in Medical Physics with a full scholarship by CAPES, and lo and behold, my name was one of them! I couldn’t contain my joy. Tears flowed freely from my eyes.

I have continued to remain steadfast since the commencement of the program. But I have continued to ride on the back of valuable individuals like Dara, whose support is ever relevant. It gives me the propensity to dare even bigger, unleashing new horizons daily.
I sign out with these words:
Every journey has an end but mine is without one,

I take my destiny into my hands and so run,
My legs hardly touching the ground, soaring into the space,

This is what I dreamed of, made me pray and fasted for days.
Seyi Omotoso,
PhD Fellow,
CAPES Scholar,
University of Sao Paulo.