Another Biafran Emerges As Best Graduating Student Of American University (Photos)

When she was in Primary Six, two visitors came calling at Immaculata Onuigbo’s school in Enugu. They were from the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation, Abuja.

On Friday night, she bagged six awards including the Afrinvest (West Africa) Award for Academic Excellence that includes a paid internship at any of the company’s subsidiaries.

But the valedictorian’s journey to the zenith of academic excellence did not come without challenges.

She recalls the days in secondary school when she’d be left in tears while watching the retreating back of her parents, in Abuja, back to Enugu, while she continued on her way back to Yola.

“The first challenge was language barrier,” she said.

The AUN uses the American grading system where 4.0 is the highest possible Cumulative Grade Points Average (CGPA). To finish Summa Cum Laude (the equivalent of the Nigerian First Class: 4.50 – 5.00), a student has to score between 3.9 and 4.0.

Ms. Onuigbo scored 3.98.

She said her ambition is to be a university professor.
“For a while, I wasn’t really sure of what I wanted to do after university but like I said before, Honours Society helps students that are academically challenged and all.