Chinecherem Cynthia Ali (right) made 9As in WAEC
A brilliant student of Shalom Academy, Nsukka, Enugu State who made 9As in WAEC has shared the secret to her success.
A former pupil of Shalom Academy, Nsukka, Enugu State, Chinecherem
Cynthia Ali, who shocked many people after getting A grade in all the
subjects she took in the West African Senior School Certificate
Examination has shared the secret to her success.
In this interview with Toluwani Eniola of Punch, Cynthia revealed what and how she was able to achieve such a wonderful feat.
Please introduce yourself.
I hail from Umuagama community in Enugu State. I am the third of
eight children. I am 18 years old. I attended Shalom Academy in Nsukka,
Enugu State. My parents are not so rich but they gave me adequate care.
My dad is a teacher. He also has a poultry farm. My mother works as a
medical lab scientist in a district hospital.
You became the first pupil in your school to earn A grade
in all the subjects you sat for in WASSCE. What motivated you to achieve
the feat?
While I was in school, my priority was to make a wonderful result. I
had clarity of purpose in what I wanted to achieve. My elder brother
was the chief motivator. He made six As in his WASSCE last year. He told
me I could do better than he did. He planted that goal to surpass his
feat in me. Whenever I had a problem with my studies, he was always
around to help me out. He practically taught me the techniques to excel
in the subjects. He prepared my mind about the syllabus in SS3, who the
teachers were and what would enable me to get the best from each of
them.
He told me I needed to put in extra efforts in whatever I was
doing. On my first day in school, when I got to SS1, my chemistry
teacher called me and told me certain things about my goal. He told me
no one had ever made nine As in the school. He said he heard an inner
voice that I could break the record. I was just laughing when he told
me. I had a note which I titled, “My future WASSCE results.”
I wrote down my results on the note, filling As across all the
subjects I was to sit for. I prayed to God to help me achieve the goal.
My friends who saw the note said I was going crazy. But I told God to
help me. Another teacher that helped me a great deal was my biology
teacher. She prepared a study timetable for me to follow. She told me to
study at least two hours at a stretch. The two teachers (chemistry and
biology) told me my goal was achievable.
Have you always had an excellent result like this?
By God grace, I have always excelled in my studies. My results were always among the best.
What did you say when you saw your outstanding result?
I was overwhelmed with joy. It was a record-breaking result because
no one had ever made that result in my school. On that day, I was
sleeping. My brother came to wake me up and broke the news. When I saw
it, I thought I was dreaming.
How many hours did you study daily?
In our school, we were mandated to observe our preparatory classes
for day students. From 2.30pm to 4pm, I would go home to cook and do
other things I needed to do till around 7pm. From 7pm till 10pm, I was
always reading my books daily. Sometimes, I could set aside five or six
hours to read.
How did you cope with the distractions from boys in school?
I never had a boyfriend. One thing I learnt along the line was that
once one is serious with one’s studies, it will be difficult for boys
to approach one for a relationship. When I was in SS1, one day I entered
the class. There was this male classmate of mine who was always
disturbing me. I was reading my book. We had just finished the computer
practical. Others were discussing while I was reading my book. Then the
boy said, “What’s the problem with you? Is it that you cannot rest, at
least talk to people.”
He said I didn’t need to be reading every time. I was able to
overcome the pressures of male pupils because I didn’t entertain any
unserious talks. They knew me for that so they avoided me. Also, I was a
day student, so I spent most of my time in class. We had preparatory
classes by 4pm so I was always at home when I was not in school. This
made it impossible for any boy to approach me. Maybe if I was in the
boarding school, it would have been a different story. I am a quiet
girl. Because I rarely had time to chat with others, they said I was a
proud girl. But I taught a few of my classmates in my spare time.
What subject was the most challenging for you and how did you overcome it?
I think physics posed the greatest challenge. I always found it
hard comprehending the subject. The situation changed when I got to SS3.
Our physics teacher always gave us tests every week. If you failed the
test, he would cane you. I was afraid of his cane. I then made up my
mind to study hard. Along the line, I realised that physics was not even
as difficult as I thought. Mathematics was easy for me. God was just
helping me at every stage. I found out that I understood what I was
taught quickly. We had five mathematics teachers. While in school,
mathematics was divided into five areas. We had separate teachers for
arithmetic, algebra, statistics, geometry and vector. Each of these
subjects was taught separately. The way mathematics was split into five
areas really helped me to have a thorough understanding of the subject. I
usually excelled in my mathematics examinations even without studying. I
love the subject so much.
How did you feel meeting the Enugu State governor?
I thank God for the privilege to meet the governor at my age. I am
grateful to God for making it possible. Thousands of pupils in our state
would like to meet the governor. For me, it is one of the most
memorable moments of my life as I shook hands with the governor. The
governor congratulated me and said the commissioner for education would
reach out to me.
Later, I was told that the governor had given me a scholarship to
study in any university of my choice in Nigeria and a prize of N1m. I
felt overwhelmed. I never believed that I would be a beneficiary of a
scholarship. I appreciate the government for this noble gesture.
What role did your parents play in your success?
My dad is an English teacher. He always encouraged us. He taught us
English after school hours. He made sure I didn’t use a mobile phone.
Once I got to secondary school, I neither used a phone nor had access to
any gadget. It was a serious offence at home. It really helped me
because if I had a mobile, I would have been distracted. I might have
spent less time on my studies. My mum always encouraged me too. She told
me that when she was my age, she excelled in her studies too. She
emphasised that I could break the record. When I was in primary school,
my father supported me with extra lessons at home. He also got part-time
teachers for me.
Do you think you are a genius?
I don’t think I am one. I think anyone who studied hard and relied on God can make a similar feat.
What is the next step for you?
I want to study medicine. I chose medicine because I believe it would enable me to save lives. It is also a noble profession.
What did you score in the UTME?
The UTME was out before I took WASSCE. I scored 266. I was
discouraged when I saw the result because I felt I should have got above
300 marks. The good thing is that they also use the WASSCE result to
select candidates. They grade prospective candidates, using 60 per cent
for the UTME and 40 per cent for the WASSCE result. When I saw my UTME
results, I was just praying to God to excel in WASSCE result a wonderful
one. When our principal saw my UTME result, he didn’t believe that it
was my result because he expected more from me. UTME was very easy for
me and I was disappointed when I saw the score.
Which schools did you apply to?
I applied to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Ebonyi State
University. The universities have not started issuing admission letters.
They have started uploading the results. The cut off mark for medicine
is 290 or so in UNN last year. I checked my result and it was 319.6, so I
am hopeful I would be admitted.
Why don’t you study abroad instead?
I want to study in Nigeria first. I guess I am too young to study outside the country all alone. But I would like to do postgraduate studies abroad.
Was cramming part of your studying methods?
I am not good at cramming books. I develop many codes to remember what I read.
What are the most remarkable lessons you have learnt from your success?
I think the most important part of my success story is to do one’s
best and to trust in God. I always believe that it’s only God that can
enable me to fulfill my destiny.
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