Success story: Meet Dr Joshua Asemota, the best graduating student in his set

This topic is dear to me because it involves someone I watched grow and blossom to be the

gentleman he is today. Dr Joshua Asemota, who studied medicine at the University of Debrecen, Hungary and graduated with a CGPA of 4.97/5.0 in 2020, is pleased to share important details of his career and self-discovery journey with us. Please welcome my beloved younger brother, Dr Joshua Asemota, to this 'chat session' with a wide grin on your face. :) 

1. How would you describe your experience in school for several years?

I will describe my experience as an adventure, meaning that I was not just interested in the academic aspect. Still, I ventured into improving my self in total, made a couple of good friends, improved on playing musical instruments (especially on the keyboard), learnt new sports (i.e. rugby and basketball), travelled to places, learnt how to cook and bake, and more.

2. I know being a medical student isn't easy; what is it like to finally be a doctor?

To finally be a doctor is a great accomplishment to me; knowing that it took a long time to complete the journey and the ability to finish something I started gives me satisfaction.

3. Were there times you felt like giving up?

Yeah, especially in the beginning, when I put in a lot of effort into a test or project, and the result was abysmal. But after I got the hang of it, I felt like quitting wasn’t an option anymore. I just had to work harder and smarter. 

4. What was your greatest motivation?

What gave me the sleepless nights was that I didn’t want to come back home as a disappointment, I didn’t want to disappoint myself especially, I didn’t want to be mediocre, I believe what’s worth doing is worth doing well.

5. I’m sure several years ago you won’t have imagined the world going through a major change (COVID-19). What do you think lies ahead of you in terms of your career?

The covid has affected me in so many ways, made me change most of my plans during my final year, and has prevented me from writing some pivotal exams so far. With that being said, right now, it is tough to speculate, but I’m still trying to navigate a decent path.

6. How did you manage your social life as a student?

My motto was don’t let good grades stop you from being friendly, and don’t let friends stop you from getting good grades. So I had rules, such as plan ahead for exams and start reading way ahead, so you don’t have to memorise everything a week or so to an exam, that way the burden of studying is shared over a longer period and you just have to revise. It's easier creating time to see people or attend programs, another rule was if you want us to hang out, I will like to know ahead of time, in as much as spontaneity is fun, I didn’t have that luxury cause I had study time table and other boring stuff like that to factor in, that makes it easier to create time blah blah.   

7. What inspired you to choose this noble career.

My parents inspired me to choose it in many loving ways, such as my mom kindly telling me to study medicine abroad or anything else in Nigeria, knowing that I wanted to study abroad. Also, my dad took me to conferences, which exposed me to the benefits of being a doctor.

8. What did you let go of in order to stay focused?

Oh man, in as much as I tried to find a balance between school and life, most times, school was the priority, so I made sacrifices, had to miss a lot of events to prepare for exams, cancelled plans to improve exam, and it cost me money trying to get better grades at times, had to let go of some lucrative opportunities. 

9. What were your greatest challenges?

My greatest challenges… honestly, I don’t know, but my greatest fear was that I did something that wasn’t my best, and I have to live with it.

10. What’s your most memorable moment in school?

So many, but I think the ones that impacted me a lot was going out with my sister after my first anatomy test in which I didn’t do too well; that made me know that no matter what, Joshua, you have people that love you and you will be fine, and also passing my pathology improvement, that wasn’t the first or last improvement exam I did, but why it was special to me was because I had other personal issues going on at that time and having to combine it with my studies. When it was successful, I knew by the Grace of God, anything is possible. 

11. How did you feel being the only one to attend the graduation ceremony due to the COVID-19 restrictions and being featured on the National Newspaper's front page?

 Grace, you know me, to be honest, I would have preferred if everyone was able to attend. They all worked hard and should have been celebrated. Concerning the newspaper, that was fun.

12. What's your advice to those who plan to study medicine?

If you want to be a doctor, you will have to work hard, set goals and focus on improving yourself. Learn from others and compete with yourself to be a better version. Have good friends, you will need them on the long journey, but not too many. And you will figure the rest out after your first exam. Thank you