Dr. Busayo Mentors Undergraduates
In an age where most GenZ students are faced with all manner of distractions occasioned by a plethora of social media platforms, peer pressure and social vices, young adults have been advised to be self disciplined and and more goals- oriented to avoid the pitfalls of academic misadventure.
This was the tune of a mentorship session with some teenagers as part of a Student Round Table marking the 2025 end of year. The forum, which was a hybrid session, was facilitated by Strategic Communications Researcher and scholar Dr Busayo Okunloye, a PhD. holder from the Texas Technical University, Lubbock, United States.
While providing insights at the event held on Christmas day 25th December 2025, Dr Busayo Okunloye posited that a clarity of personal goal setting is pivotal to a student’s academic pursuit and excellence.
Dr. Busayo, a graduate of the Ajayi Crowther University, holds a first degree in Mass Communication, after which she proceeded for her Masters at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). She shared insights on the need for students to be academically focused. For her, the first priority for any student is academic excellence.
Drawing from her personal experiences, the double Masters degree holder from the University of Lagos and the Texas Tech University, stated that though parental influence could serve as a motivation to some extent, however, the ultimate outcome of a student’s academic pursuit was largely dependent on his or her personal set goals, which according to her most be higher than a comfortable average and guided by discipline and strong faith in God.
” It is very easy to get carried away in a university campus environment. There’s always the temptation for many young adults seeking some sort of independence, the school environment away from daily parental monitoring offers some air of freedom, and there’s this subtle and persuasive social mood, music shows, night life, and other extracurricular activities that are distractions all over”. She counselled students not to allow themselves to be swept away by the buzz of the moment, she emphasized unequivocally.
Dr Busayo then added that a well focused student should use the first two years of his/her undergraduate studies to build a strong, stable Cummulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) before exploring areas of leadership, skills and social engagement that aligns with a student’s personal goals.
In her words “In my 100 and 200 levels, I did not join any activity outside classes, so it was in my 300 level that I joined the drama team in my chapel and became the coordinator of the drama unit”. She stated.
Speaking further, Dr Busayo who got her Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from the Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo State said it was important for students to draw up their priorities and stay guided by their personal convictions to avoid distractions. She added that whatever looks enticing at the early stages of life will eventually be available for pleasure and convenience later in life when the primary goals per time have been achieved while stressing that she didn’t struggle with peer influence as she intentionally surrounded herself with people of like minds and challenging study partners.
Recounting her experience as a young scholar while in the UnitedStates, she noted some of the challenges she encountered and how she overcame them. One of which was the imposter syndrome. For her, she had to desist from making contributions in class and kept a low profile as it seemed to her that she was not been understood in class. However, in order to prove her intelligence, she ensured she performed exceptionally in her assignments, tests, and exams. This she says subsequently gained her recognition from her lecturers and colleagues.
One of the mentees and active participants at the forum, Ogiegie Damissah, a 300-level undergraduate student of the Department of Philosophy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, threw some engaging questions at the enthused facilitator. Drawing from her journalistic inclination, Ogiegie a member of Icon News media and the Association of Campus Journalists at the Obafemi Awolowo University sort advice on how best to deal with the challenge of effective time management given that students are always pressed for time. In her response, she acknowledged that managing time for students is always quite a difficult challenge. “It is down to scale of preference and alternative foregone.” She noted.
“As students, you must see time as an asset that should never be lost, so it boils down to planning, identifying the day’s priorities, strict self discipline, keeping a journal to outline daily schedules, using sticker papers to keep reminders in your space, activating periodic alarms and been intentional to follow up” she affirmed.
On studying abroad, she pointed out that adjusting to technology in the USA as a student was a major challenge. According to Dr. Busayo, there is the availability of technology to aid the academic system with apps like ‘Blackboard’ used for grading assignments as well as many other functions and ‘Canvas’ used by students to access information about their courses and many others. In order to cope with the new development, she reached out to some of her colleagues for assistance.
Above all, she added that Godly christian values and virtues were good ingredients to help young people, especially the girl-child, to stay focused in this age of competing factors of distractions.
She encouraged students to strive for the best, be deliberate, and determined towards pursuing the best in their academics.
Read Also: Nigerian Teen, Daniel Adeluyi, Makes History as First National Semifinalist in a $400,000 Global Science Competition
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