UI Engineering Student Who Ran Multiple Businesses Graduates With First Class
A Nigerian engineering student, Omiyinka Samuel, has inspired many after graduating with a first-class degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ibadan, despite running several businesses as an undergraduate.
Sharing his journey online, Samuel revealed that his academic success did not come easily. He explained that while studying, he was deeply involved in different business activities, including running a laundry service, alongside his academic work.
According to him, he started university strong with a CGPA of 3.86, but things became difficult in his second year when his grades dropped to the 3.6 range. Though discouraged, he managed to stay afloat until another drop in his penultimate year, when his CGPA fell to 3.52.
At that point, fear set in. What made the situation more challenging was that he had just been elected president of his department, a role that demanded serious commitment throughout his final year. Alongside leadership responsibilities for over 200 students, Samuel had to manage his businesses, handle academic pressure, and complete his final-year project.
He admitted that making an academic comeback under such pressure felt almost impossible.
However, in his final year, everything changed. Samuel recorded a 3.80 GPA, scored 81% in his final project, successfully led his department, and raised his cumulative grade from 3.52 to 3.58, pushing him into the first-class category something many consider extremely difficult at final level.
Grateful and emotional, he credited his achievement to God and expressed optimism about pursuing graduate studies in the future.
His story has since encouraged many students, proving that setbacks do not cancel success — persistence does.