MTU Best Graduating Student: Self-Competition, Not Pressure, Drove My 4.94 CGPA

Omolola Akinyemi, the overall best graduating student of Mountain Top University, MTU, Ogun State, finished with a 4.94 CGPA in Mathematics, and she said the biggest force behind that result came from inside her.

She was not being pushed hard by her parents. Nobody was standing over her and forcing her to study. What kept her moving was simple. She always wanted to do better than she had done in the semester before. That personal drive stayed with her throughout the programme and kept raising the bar in her own mind.

Akinyemi also gave credit to her lecturers. She said they supported her and helped her through difficult parts of the course. Mathematics, however, did not remain easy from start to finish.

One major struggle came when the programme moved from applied Mathematics into pure Mathematics. In her final year, the work became more analytical and more abstract. The ideas were harder to hold, and the questions demanded a different level of thinking. She described that part of the programme as one of the hardest stages she faced.

Family support also mattered deeply.

Her mother is a farmer, while her father is a retired professor. Akinyemi said both of them encouraged her, but they did not place unhealthy pressure on her.

Her mother, especially, had one rule that was very firm. She hated exam malpractice.

Akinyemi said her mother once told her that she would rather pay for an extra year of school than see her daughter get caught cheating in an exam. That warning was clear enough. Passing was important, but the way the result was earned mattered even more.

Her father also played a major role in her academic journey.

He is a retired professor of Computer Science and has taught at Covenant University, Landmark University, Augustine University, and Mountain Top University. He had also served at MTU as pioneer Dean of Postgraduate Studies.

That made things a little more serious for Akinyemi when she became a student in the same university where her father had already built a name.

She said that connection created another level of responsibility. People knew who her father was, so she had one more reason to take her work seriously. Even with that, she said his support was useful and practical.

Whenever she had a difficult Mathematics problem that was outside his own field, he did not pretend to know everything. He connected her with people who could help.

That kind of support made a difference.

Akinyemi is the third of four children. Her two older sisters studied Geology and Political Science, while her younger brother is studying Cyber Security. Education already had a strong place in the family, and high academic performance was normal around her.

She said that environment helped shape her own desire to do well.

There was always something to look up to, but she also had her own standard. She wanted to improve herself, semester after semester.

At 20, she has already finished at the top of her class, but she is not planning to stop there.

Akinyemi said she wants to continue with postgraduate study in either Actuarial Science or Pure and Applied Mathematics. For now, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in South Africa is her first choice.

She also said she does not plan to continue her studies in Nigeria, the United States, or Canada.

Her study habits may surprise people who believe every top student must live inside the library.

Akinyemi said she rarely used the library.

She studies better with music playing or with a movie in the background. Once her concentration drops, she stops. She does not force herself to keep reading when her mind is already tired.

That method worked for her, and she believes students should find what works for them instead of copying every popular study rule they hear.

Her Mathematics class was very small. There were only five students in the cohort.

Three of them, including Akinyemi, graduated with First Class honours. The remaining two finished with Second Class Upper degrees.

That is a strong result for such a small group.

She said group study helped them a lot. They also used online materials and AI tools when difficult topics became hard to understand.

Still, Akinyemi has a warning about artificial intelligence.

She said tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek can help explain mathematical ideas, but students should be careful when using them to solve problems.

She and her coursemates sometimes tested the same Mathematics questions across different AI platforms and got different answers.

That inconsistency made one thing clear to her. AI can help, but it cannot be trusted blindly.

She believes Mathematics still demands original thinking. A student has to reason, test ideas, and understand why an answer makes sense. Copying whatever an AI tool gives can easily lead to mistakes.

Her advice to students is simple. Find a study method that matches the way your own mind works.

Some people need silence. Some study better in groups. Some need music. Some can read for long hours, while others work better in short periods.

Akinyemi said students should stop forcing themselves into methods that do not fit them.

She also had a message for parents.

She urged them to support the courses their children truly want to study instead of pushing them into fields like Medicine, Law, or Engineering simply because those courses are widely respected.

She believes students do better when they are allowed to grow in areas that match their real interest and strength.

Her own love for Mathematics started early.

Akinyemi attended EPIC International Schools, Irewu, Ogun State. She said the school helped build her interest in Mathematics by exposing her to competitions and programmes that made the subject more exciting.

She took part in the American Mathematics Competition, Mathematics Olympiads, Cowbellpedia, and Turkish Math programmes.

Those early experiences helped turn Mathematics from an ordinary school subject into something deeper for her.

Years later, that interest carried her through Mountain Top University and ended with a 4.94 CGPA.

Her story is simple, but strong.

She kept trying to beat her own last result. Her family supported her without crushing her with pressure. Her lecturers helped. Her coursemates worked together. She used technology, but she still trusted her own brain.

And at the end of it all, she became the overall best graduating student.