Orifunke Lawal

#FreshGradTales is here again and well, I am as excited as you are (or should be). Today, I have Olaitan Dipo being featured on #FreshGradTales. Dipo is a fresh graduate from the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State (FUTMINNA) and he studied Chemical Engineering. The young graduate who hails from Kwara State is the only child of his parents and loves to watch movies, read and gist with friends.

Do enjoy his interview and do not forget to share after you’re done with reading. Thank you.

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How would you describe your journey through the university?

I would describe my journey through the University as a great one with loads of experience from friends and from the environment.

What were the best thing and worst thing about attending your university?

The best thing for me about attending the University was the freedom you get when you leave home; you don’t have anyone to control you. The worst for me was having to deal with different kinds of people especially roommates, lecturers and sometimes the courses themselves

If you had an opportunity to start all over again, would you still pick your university? Why or why not?

I would not, because of the stress I have to pass through to get to the University and the distance from my home (Lagos) to Minna due to bad roads as well as considering conditions such as light issues we experienced outside the campus because of the number of limited hostels we had in the University.

Imagine you had a second chance as a student, what would you do better?

If I had a second chance as a student, I would plan my life better than before. I would make more inquiries about the course I want to study. In details, what I mean is that I won’t go for Chemical Engineering. Although I planned to study Computer Engineering, along the line, I applied for Chemical Engineering.

What did you learn most from being a student in your university?

What I learnt most was how to accommodate different kinds people (their behaviours) and also learning to relate well when meeting people for the first time. I didn’t relate with people well in secondary school when meeting them for the first time until I had known them very well and this affected my relationship with my level mates in 100L.

Tell us about your relationships, maybe? 

Actually, for relationships, they did not work out for me. I tried being in a relationship in 300, 400 and 500L with the same girl but she refused.

What challenges did you have as a student? (This could be personal, academic, whatever)

The challenge I had as a student was mainly the problem of mentoring. I had nobody to guide me and that was actually my fault because I kept a lot of things to myself.

Now that you’re a graduate, what’s next for you?

The next is to launch into the labour market (Lol). But before then, I would love to acquire some skills such as programming and leadership skills.

Any final words?

Yes, I want to say a big thank you to Orifunke for this great opportunity. God bless you ma.

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#FreshGradTales is a series of interviews for fresh graduates from ALL universities in Nigeria. This initiative aims at hearing and sharing the stories, struggles, achievements and experiences of fresh Nigerian graduates. We do believe everyone has a unique story that someone somewhere would love to read and benefit from reading as well.

If you are a fresh university graduate and would love to share your #FreshGradTales, Orifunke would be glad to hear from you on [email protected]