A brilliant Nigerian lady named Zaynab Agboola, made history in 2020 as the only female first-class graduate in the Department of Agricultural Engineering and Biosystems at the University of Ilorin.
Her exceptional academic performance earned her multiple scholarships, including fully funded opportunities in Turkey and United Kingdom.
Taking to LinkedIn, Zaynab shared that she arrived at the University of Ilorin six years ago with a dream—to achieve what no one in her family had ever done: earn an engineering degree.
Not only did she succeed, but she did so with historic distinction.In a class of 92 students, Zaynab was the only female first-class graduate.
While the achievement was a dream come true, she admitted that the journey was challenging.
She balanced leadership responsibilities, serving as the Vice President of the Faculty of Engineering & Technology, while also actively volunteering with JCI—all alongside her demanding academic workload.
Zaynab dedicated her success to everyone who contributed to her learning experience, from 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood to university, including her parents, siblings, lecturers, tutors, and mentors.
She expressed special gratitude to her undergraduate lecturers, especially her level adviser, for his unwavering support in helping her achieve this milestone.
Zaynab’s academic excellence earned her two fully funded scholarships—one from the Turkish government and another from Campus France Nigeria and a partial 25% scholarship from the University of Roehampton, UK.
After careful consideration, she chose the Turkish government scholarship, which covered tuition, accommodation, visa and flight fees, health insurance, and a monthly stipend. However, her scholarship journey was not without struggles.
In just six months, Zaynab applied for 10 scholarships, facing multiple rejections and unfunded admission offers. But rather than being discouraged, she used every rejection as fuel to improve herself while waiting for the one big YES—which finally came.
To aspiring scholars, Zaynab shared an encouraging message. “Everyone has a different journey, and your dreams are valid. Rejections are annoying and draining, but they are equally part of the journey. Never give up. Just one YES is all you need. I am rooting for you, and I’ll see you at the top,” she said.
