A Nigerian lady who hawked pepper has become the first-ever black person to bag PhD from a Canadian university.
The lady who is identified as Addy Olubamiji, used to hawk at Ibadan street has obtained Biomedical Engineering from a university in Canada.
Olubamiji who shared her story on Twitter recounted how her mother used to be a farmer while her father struggled to raise money for the family.
According to the post, she revealed that she came from a poor background but her determination to succeed made her excel.
She revealed that she is the last born of her parent and always had to wait for her turn. she was raised by a mother who is a farmer and a father who has little. She hawked pepper on the streets of Ibadan at age 10 to help her mum. She also attended public primary and secondary schools in Ibadan.
She said ” I attended OOU and studied Physics. Because I had a 2.1, it opened the door for me to proceed to Finland for a Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering. During this master’s degree, I worked part-time as a cleaner and did this after my Master’s as well.
“Out of determination, I applied to over 100 schools for my PhD and finally got a full 3-year scholarship (later extended to 4 years scholarship) at @usask, Canada to pursue a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. While in that PhD program, I worked part-time as a makeup artist, and teaching assistant, braided hair and fix weaves to make extra money.
“Today I walked the stage as the first black person to bag a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada!!! I walked this stage for you Mama Africa and for my Motherland Nigeria!!! I walked the stage for all of you black women disrespected and looked down on!!!!