Calm, cool, composed and confident are some of the adjectives to describe Umeh Kamsiyochukwu Precious, an SS 3 pupil of Deeper Life High School, Lagos campus who scored an aggregate of 360 in recently released University Matriculation Examination (UTME) of May 2nd, 2023, to pursue Chemical Engineering. She score 99 over 100 in Chemistry. Umeh Kamsiyochukwu was just five marks behind Maduafokwa Egoagwugwu Agnes, another girl from Anambra who chose to study Industrial Production Engineering at the University of Ibadan.
In this interview with Olugbenga Adebiyi, Editor of School Connect Magazine, this Chemical Engineer in the making revealed that she hardly burn the midnight oil as it is the norm of other hardworking student like other student to make the second highest score in UTME, but made use of past questions, some preparatory materials, textbooks and spell-checking her answers before submitting during the exam. She attributed her success to being blessed with a good brain and the commitment of her teachers at the school. The School Principal, Pastor Michael Ajala also gave a good commendation about Precious saying that she was of good because and takes her studies seriously.
Her plan is to get scholarship and study abroad. Below are excerpts.
I heard the news that you did excellently well in this recent UTME which was released about a week ago. How did you do that? How do you get 360 in UTME?
My name is Umeh Kamsiyochukwu Precious, and I had 360 in UTME the score came as a surprise to me because it was my first time writing the exam. I didn’t believe that I would have such score. It was just although I put in my own effort by reading, studying and preparing for the exam. I practiced a lot of past questions and also made use of study app in preparing for the exam. The App is called Texula, Texula helps prospective candidate to prepare for the exam, grade them and also show them corrections. Besides I used another study guide called, ‘One time success’ I complemented this with text books along with past questions.
Before you scored 360 in UTME do you have some set goals in mind that you would exceed 360? What preparation exercise do you put in place while preparing for the exam?
When I was setting my goals for UTME, what I first set or wrote down was 350 and then I changed it to 363 afterwards and then 360.
Which subjects did you enroll for in UTME?
I enrolled for Chemistry, Mathematics, Use of English and Physics.
What course are you planning to study?
I am planning to study Chemical Engineering.
Why did you choose chemical Engineering? I choose chemical Engineering because I like Chemistry and I wanted to do something in line with chemistry. I am not too good at biology or else I would have chosen course / disciplines related to that. For me, chemistry is as east as a pie and that is why studying chemical engineering is appealing.
What do you intend to do with chemical Engineering? I intend to work in a production company or oil Service Company or any organization that this course will be useful for. I am not too clear about where I want to work. But any good organization or company that would value my degree qualification.
What can you say aided your score? Can we say is a result of your hard work, friends, peers, teachers, or mentor or just anything who have actually influenced this in one way or another? What can you say about this? Yes I have friends whom we do group study together. Well, surprisingly I don’t burn midnight oil. I am not a bookworm, I am just blessed with a good brain and memory. Once I read or attend classes, the whole thing just sticks. Going the extra mile by staying up late reading or burning the midnight oil as you say, is not really my type of person. I study, I read books, but I don’t really love reading that much. This is just me.
What is your advice for students especially those who do not believe in using their brain to pass exams, but like to take the short-cut of exam malpractice? I would advise students to be determined- to go for what they want. I feel that some students don’t really know what they want and they are satisfied with anything that comes their way in terms of achievement. Some of them have the attitude that if they fail UTME this year, they can still enroll for another one next year. If you want to achieve anything in life, you have to be determined. If you are not you can’t achieve anything.
I think what is also responsible for the success in this exam is because you make use of pass questions, textbooks, and other preparation materials. Apart from all this do you have encouragement from your teachers, mentor, parent, and so on?
At Deeper Life School the teachers are very committed and dedicated, they give in their best to every student and always want the best for us. They spur us, motivate us and give us the enthusiasm to succeed. Sometimes, they give us inspirational quotes by great leaders /achievers. We also receive mentorship from them. All these are some impetus or motivation for us at DLHS courtesy of our teachers and administrators. The moral aspect is another aspect responsible for our grooming and development. Rules are set here- there are Dos and Don’ts, there is appraisal and reward or commendation for anything done right. There is also penalty or punishment for violating rules here. To me, I think these things add to our wholesome development in the academic and moral aspect. Another thing is that we have amiable environment for learning. The teachers are accessible and available. Whenever any student /pupils don’t understand anything in the class, such student can go to meet the teachers privately. Sometimes, some shy students might be ashamed to ask questions in the classroom for the fear that they would be laughed at, ridiculed by their mates. The open-door policy by our teachers here gives students the opportunity to ask any question whether it is foolish one or intelligent one from their teachers in the staff room. The teachers listens attentively to give answers to our questions and guide us where we need guidance.
I think all these are success catalysts at DLHS. I can proudly and confidently say it that we have good teachers here.
Which subject did you have the highest score in UTME? That was chemistry, I scored 99.
How did you maximize the time in the examination hall working under exam tension to still score 99 in chemistry – remember, this is not moi-moi like Use of English or CRK?
While using the laptop to do the exam, I didn’t waste time on questions that I don’t know. I will skip them and come back to them later. I go through the instructions and then look at the question. When I had no clue to the question or it is plausible, I skip them. After finishing all the question I came back to the unanswered questions. By this time, I was sure that the job is almost done having satisfactorily answering all the questions that I know and since there was time, I can spend more time with the difficult questions. For chemistry I went through it for about 3times, just to ensure nothing was left amiss. It was a surprise to me actually when I saw 99 in chemistry because that was actually the goal I set for this subject.
Did any of your parents study any of the science?
No, my Dad is a businessman - an entrepreneur. My Mom is an accountant.
So where on earth do you have this DNA in you to be good at chemistry?
I have no idea.
So who do you think you are looking up to as a mentor propelling you to achieve your goal as a student? The person that I look up to is actually my proprietor, pastor (Dr.) W.F Kumuyi. I admired his quintessential leadership style, his contagious academy successes which is robbing up on us his children in the school here, I think in every sense of the world, he is an achiever and he has made his mark in the academia and Christendom. He made a first class in mathematics and we are also seeing the impact and effect of his pragmatic leadership in the education sector. And that is why we are all here. So, that is why I look up to him and he has influenced me in no small measure by shaping my academic excellence. Another mentor I have are my parents. They guide me and motivate me.
Are you a bookworm? Do you like reading books? I have said this before, I am nor a book worm. I am just blessed with good brain. Once I attend classes the whole thing sticks. I don’t have to do more of extra reading. Although I do that sometimes, but not like pouring over book. I actually enjoy reading novels and my textbooks.
Which higher institution in Nigeria are you planning to go? I actually want to study abroad that is if my parent could afford that or I get a scholarship to fund my studies.
What are your hobbies?
Reading Novels.
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