Her Green story
Mathematics is a subject that many students shy away from because of their belief that it is a difficult subject.
Demilade Onabanjo , who was born in Nigeria had her primary and secondary education in Nigeria shares her story of how she was able to obtain a first class honours in mathematics from Greenwich university in United Kingdom.
When asked how she was motivated to study mathematics , she told Greens Magazine that she prefers numbers to words and that she loves working with numbers. ' I see mathematics as a very crucial part of daily life , from as little as adding numbers, to get the time of the day and schedule the day , to as complex as differentiation to be able to calculate how quick fire can spread, hence preventing the spread. Its just a wide subject and everyone uses it daily consciously or not.
Demilade told Greens Magazine how her College Mathematics teacher at Dagenham Park Church Of England community school played a big part in her decision to study mathematics. ' I wasn't the best in the subject and I didn't know that I was going to focus on the subject, however his passion for teaching mathematics which I interpreted as impacting lives moved me. Then I made up my mind that whatever I choose to do will impact lives with the use of mathematics.
East or West , home is the best, Demilade tells us about her love for Nigeria which she calls home and the life she lived there before relocating to the UK.
'My life in Nigeria was a fun filled , future oriented one. I made a number of great friends , part of which have become my family. I was that girl that just loved to be involved in activities: in school , church , parties and anywhere I find myself.
My love for studying started when I was much younger and up until the end of my primary education I had passion for excellence. Shamefully , I lost concentration when I started my secondary education, however I buckled up along the way. Although I didn't go as high as I would have loved to but I moved higher than I was when I started. I had some great teachers in secondary school and I appreciate everyone of them for their efforts and helping me get to where I am now.
Adjusting to a new environment can take time, Demilade shares how she adjusted from the niche she had created for herself in Nigeria to a all new environment in the UK .
'It was quite hard at the beginning. I was missing home, relatives and friends. It took a while to adjust to the environment and make new friends. Eventually, I got used to it and it's been great since'.
Demilade shares some of the challenges she had while studying mathematics at Greenwich university. According to her the biggest challenge she faced was shuffling her extracurricular activities with her academics.
Demilade is not only a scholar but a bundle of talents which most of them have formed the majority of her hobbies. She is Singer , a drummer and a dancer.
.Her passion for singing to Glorify God exceeds drumming and dancing. She is a member of a group called Kaleho.
'My music group is called Kaleho. It is a gospel music group. We started the group about 2 years ago now. The group is made up of 10 young and talented persons Ages ranging from 16years to 24years. We have released 3 singles so far, one of which is originally ours. It's called "We give you the praise", can be found on spotify, Amazon, iTunes and the likes. The other two are a cover and are; "You are wonderful" and "In Christ Alone".
The support one can get from family and friends cannot be overemphasized , Demilade shares her view about the role of family and friends in ones journey in life.
My family and friends played a very big part in this. Their encouragements , the confidence they had in me and my personal expectations were all driving forces that encouraged me.
I also had the determination to finish well , so as to make my college mathematics teacher proud.
She advises the younger ones to work hard . ' Start the hard work now so that it gets easier as you go. The foundation needs to be strong. Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well. There is no point wasting time and resources, it will only lead to regrets/ had it been.
Trust God because at the end only him can crown efforts. It is never too late to buckle up. Don't give up on your dreams because you feel you are failing. You can always get better if you work harder and trust God better.
My name is Demilade Onabanjo , and here is my Green story.
