24-Year-Old Mother Of One Bags 23 Awards After Emerging Best Graduating Medical Student At Sokoto Varsity (PHOTOS)
Sumayyah Abdallah, a 24-year-old mother with one child, has achieved the distinction of being the top-performing medical student for the 2022/2023 academic session at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS).
She garnered a remarkable twenty-three awards in recognition of her academic excellence.
The recognition and cash prizes were bestowed upon Sumayyah during the medical students’ induction ceremony at the university’s auditorium on Saturday, December 9, 2023.
Sumayyah reflected on the challenging academic journey that began in 2015 with approximately 140 students in her conversation with journalists. Ultimately, only 79 individuals were inducted into the medical profession as graduates.
Originally from Agaie, Niger state, Sumayyah commenced her medical studies in December 2015. In addition to the prestigious awards, she received a prize sum exceeding four hundred thousand naira (N400,000) during the induction.
Despite getting married in 2021 immediately after completing UG4, Sumayyah balanced family life and academic pursuits, giving birth three weeks before the UG5 examinations.
“Marriage affected my studies positively, it gave me more motivation and determinants than ever. It made me more focused on achieving my goals,” said Sumayyah.
Sumayyah said she had so many good grades that she deserved the feat. She expressed her excitement about the achievement,
“Alhamdulillah, I feel really happy, seeing the smiles on my parents’ faces and their tears of joy is the most satisfying feeling in the whole wide world. I faced challenges but challenges are part of life, and we are not as perfect as the picture you see, I was scared at some point in time,” she said.
Having a baby in medical school, especially while carrying the 9 months pregnant, and taking care of the child after delivery was strenuous for Sumayyah.
“Thanks to my husband and my little Zayd too, we went through it all together,”
Sumayyah advised undergraduates to stay humble, avoid overconfidence, and avoid too many friends.
“What is worth doing is worth doing well. Most importantly, pray as if you’ve never read anything and read as if you’ve never prayed,” she added.
