featured Magazine

Wow!!! Meet First Black Person To Obtain Ph.D In Biomedical Engineering

Byhvzclarence

PublishedJanuary 12, 2018

A Nigerian, Adeola Olubamiji is the first black person to obtain a PhD in the field of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.

But she had very humble beginnings. From selling pepper on the streets of Ibadan, Nigeria to now being a distinguished PhD holder, Adeola has not had it easy. Here’s a snippet of her story:

“As the fifth child of five, I always had to wait for my turn. I was the last, a girl child and raised by a mother who is a farmer and a father who has little.

“I hawked pepper on the streets of Ibadan as early as age 10 to help my mum. Went to public primary and secondary schools in Ibadan. Attended OOU and studied Physics.

“Because I had a 2.1, it opened the door for me to proceed to Finland for a Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering. During this Master’s degree, I worked part-time as a cleaner and did this after my Master’s as well.

Adeola Olubamiji is the first black person to obtain a PhD in the field of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. But she had very humble beginnings. From selling pepper on the streets of Ibadan, Nigeria to now being a distinguished PhD holder, Adeola has not had it easy. Here’s a snippet of her story: . “As the fifth child of five, I always had to wait for my turn. I was the last, a girl child and raised by a mother who is a farmer and a father who has little. . “I hawked pepper on the streets of Ibadan as early as age 10 to help my mum. Went to public primary and secondary schools in Ibadan. Attended OOU and studied Physics. . “Because I had a 2.1, it opened the door for me to proceed to Finland for a Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering. During this Master’s degree, I worked part-time as a cleaner and did this after my Master’s as well. . “Out of determination, I applied to over 100 schools for my PhD and finally got a full three-year scholarship (later extended to four years) at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, to pursue a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. . “While in that PhD programme, I worked part-time as a makeup artist, teaching assistant, braided hair and fixed weaves to make extra money. . “Today, I walked the stage as the first black person to bag a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada! . “I walked this stage for you Mama Africa and for my Motherland Nigeria! I walked the stage for all of you Black women disrespected and looked down on! . “I walked for all of you Africans in Finland wondering what is next for you!! . “Be bold, be innovative, be different, be you, be everything you want to be; but remember to put God first! . “Let no man, upbringing, money, circumstance, colourism, past mistakes, institution, company, partner, background, let nothing tell you ‘you can’t do it.’ . “Go smart! Go hard!! Go for Gold!!! Go with God!!! Just Get Going!!!!! . #JMSStories #JoMaxwellShow #JMS

A post shared by The Jo Maxwell Show (@jomaxwellshow) on Jan 12, 2018 at 12:24am PST

“Out of determination, I applied to over 100 schools for my PhD and finally got a full three-year scholarship (later extended to four years) at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, to pursue a PhD in Biomedical Engineering.

“While in that PhD programme, I worked part-time as a makeup artist, teaching assistant, braided hair and fixed weaves to make extra money.

“Today, I walked the stage as the first black person to bag a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada!

“I walked this stage for you Mama Africa and for my Motherland Nigeria! I walked the stage for all of you Black women disrespected and looked down on!
.
“I walked for all of you Africans in Finland wondering what is next for you!!
.
“Be bold, be innovative, be different, be you, be everything you want to be; but remember to put God first!
.
“Let no man, upbringing, money, circumstance, colourism, past mistakes, institution, company, partner, background, let nothing tell you ‘you can’t do it.’

“Go smart! Go hard!! Go for Gold!!! Go with God!!! Just Get Going!!!!!
.

Source: Instagram