Graduating With a First Class at Age 19 is a Miracle!
Jedidah Moses is by all standards an achiever. Yes, she is an
amazing an upward-mobile lady whose story continues to inspire hope, courage,
strength, determination and faith to pull through whatever obstacle and attain
uncommon success. In this edition,
Jedidah shares the story of her journey from primary to tertiary institution;
but it’s not just the story of the hurdles, poverty, threats, sickness and
failure: It’s also that of victory, healing, provision, divine intervention, favour
and A-Status Success. Excerpts-
My father lost his job when I was seven years old and
in Primary 4. There was really no hope of furthering my education at the time
because my parents used their resources on a house they were building before
daddy’s loss of job.
Somehow, help came through the Proprietress of my Primary
School (Toluwa Montessori School), Mrs. Bolaji Akanji. She decided to place me
on scholarship at that tender age.
What do I give in return? I had no choice but to determine
to excel. It was obvious my parents might not be able to fund my education anymore.
And since God decided to smile on me by providing help in form of scholarship, I
reasoned that it would be foolhardy of me to take my education for granted. So,
I had to work hard. True to my dream, my efforts paid off as I emerged the best
graduating student at the end of my Primary education.
My excellent performance inspired my parents to seek a
first-class secondary school for me. Their choice was Queens College, Yaba,
Lagos. But again, they could not afford it. While they were still contemplating
what next to do, God touched the heart of a family friend, the Proprietor of
El- Crystal Star Schools, Mr Olusegun Oyeleye, to place me on a scholarship
again. And so, throughout my secondary education, my parents never spent a dime
on school fees, uniforms or even WAEC fees. At the end of the day, I again
emerged the best graduating student for my set, 2009.
I had this long term dream of studying medicine, but I
also wanted to attend Covenant University, so I decided to opt for Biochemistry
since the institution did not have Medicine as one of their courses.
My experience at Covenant University was indeed no bed
of roses. Graduating from Covenant University with a first Class at the age of nineteen,
is a miracle, I really can’t exhaust the details.
I got into school with the hope to graduate with good
grades, but I never thought I could make a first class degree. After, my Year
One first semester in school, I made a 4.84 of 5.00. Of course I didn’t expect to
get such, even though I studied hard. That basically was because I felt I was
not as privileged as my classmates since many of them came from very wealthy
families. The news of my first semester result did give me hope that I could
work towards having a better GPA.
At the beginning of my second semester, I was
nominated as one of the ‘whiz kids (exceptionally brilliant student)’ of my
class, I thought all was well, until one of my classmates confronted me and
said, “You will see”. I took it as an empty threat and focused on my studies.
But two weeks to the commencement of my second semester exams, I became
terribly ill and this lasted till the end of the exam. As a result of this
incidence my CGPA dropped.
That was the beginning of my trouble. Falling sick two
weeks to each semester exam became a recurrent decimal. And most times I finish
the exams with sickness. Another strange trend was that I usually returned to
school for each semester at least 3-5 weeks after resumption because of the ever-increasing
school fees.
In fact, I had two cases of food poisoning, the last being
extremely terrible. At some point I even had partial memory loss in my 200
level; I had my first F in 300 Level because of system error, which was later rectified.
I had my second F in 400level first semester; and that was because I was
hospitalized during my exams. Knowing that this would mean automatic carry over
and extra session, I had to pray and cry to God for divine intervention. I could
not afford extra semester/session in school. Where would I get the money? I
prayed and God heard my cry. He gave me as I eventually wrote the exam later in
the second semester and passed the course in flying colours. I had several occasions
of no food, no money, and several incidents I can't even talk about.
In it all, my parents were extremely supportive during
those trying times. They stayed fervent in prayer and intercession for me. So, I
eventually overcame sickness in my final semester and that semester became my
second best semester in Covenant University.
The beauty of it all was that I refused to give up on
God. I also kept on reading and studying seriously. Above all, the Lord also
had a way of raising helpers for my school fees. He raised encouragers to keep
me going and also gave me strength to pull through.
I got my first degree in flying colours; but obviously
not by my strength or power. There were times when the Holy Spirit would
minister to me on where to concentrate for my exams. Today, I cannot take any
part of the glory because when it seemed the way was blocked, He made a way.
I am a living testimony and I can boldly say: “It
doesn’t matter the kind of storm you are going through, God is always available
to calm the storm.”
Today, I stand tall as a testimony of God’s awesome
power to lift up the poor and feeble. I have
not reached my goal; I keep pressing on to fulfill my childhood dreams and I am
confident of the fact that He has cleared the way.
Just a word of advice: John Hagee once said “He has
not promised us a smooth sailing, but He has promised us a safe landing”. Don’t
give up on God in your trying times. Don’t give up on your dreams even when it
is physically obvious that you can’t make it. Trust him, stay focused and be
prayerful. You will never be disappointed!
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