How Yola town meets young gowns at AUN matric
@SimonEchewofun
Young gowns and aspiring students flooded Yola town as they converged for their matriculation last Monday at the American University of Nigeria (AUN), in Adamawa state. Many of them who spoke to YOUTHVILLE were visibly elated over the admission process.
Not less than 155 students took the pledge, the American style of oath-taking during the matriculation for the Spring 2017 academic session.
Presenting the students for the exercise, the Assistant Vice President, Recruitment and Marketing, Mr. Linus Ikyurav of the university said 4,000 candidates applied for the 2017 academic session but 500 were short-listed, from which the 155 students were finally picked.
Among these students, 110 are undergraduates; the others are for postgraduate courses. A distinct mark for the event was the fact that 10 of the undergraduates were transferred from universities in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. When asked about this, some of the students said they had found that they could always get the same quality of education they desire at AUN just as they would wish for overseas.
The AUN established in 2004 by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar also has scholarships in place to reward academic excellence, as 13 other undergraduates came through it. Mr. Ikyurav said all the students admitted had high performance of over 200 average scores in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Giving her charge to the freshers, the President of AUN, Dr. Margee Ensign urged them to set goals for themselves. She said: “Your coming to AUN is one of the best decisions that you have made and we will make sure you are exposed to all the resources that you need.
“By becoming part of AUN team, you’re committing to discovering new talents to changing Nigeria, Africa and the world,” Dr. Ensign said.
The President noted that the number of students transferring to AUN kept increasing because she keyed into the Nigerians in the Diaspora (NIDO) initiative that made her meet with more Nigerian parents abroad to convince them of sending their children home for quality education.
She said with the postinsurgency era in the state, this year’s admission number was one of the highest and is expected to increase, with planned expansion of the university’s facilities, clinic, and the addition of new courses, and an online study platform.
A graduating student and President of the Student Government Association of AUN, Mr. Abdulrahman Bapullo admonished the freshers on how they should behave in the university. He said coming to AUN is the best thing that has happened to him adding that, “at AUN, anything is possible for every one of you.”
The young student told YOUTHVILLE that he is aspiring for a seat in the Adamawa State House of Assembly by 2019.
He urged the new students to leverage on the rich facilities and conducive academic environment including over 30 clubs, e-libraries and modern conference hall, to contribute to the growth of Africa.
Maryam is best new student
Among the students who spoke YOUTHVILLE was the overall best candidate at the AUN November scholarship examination. Miss Maryam Habila Usman, 17, said she had her tuition, accommodation and other expenses paid for by the school for the first semester.
Maryam from Borno State said she had over 200 UTME score besides being the overall best at the scholarship examination. She added that she was proud of her performance as she was inspired by her mother. The Natural and Environmental Science student said she can apply for the same scholarship in the next semester if her performance is above 3.5 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), a challenge she has already taken up.
The Vice President, Campus Life and Dean of Students, Mr. Byron Bullock got the students jolted with his slogan, ‘Tuesday is Coming’ meaning classes resumed a day after the pledge.
Asked if the students understood what it means, Maryam said she was ready to begin her classes at once and has braced up for the challenge. Two other students, Nnenna and Aishatu said they had made enquiries before arriving at the university and would be ready to settle down for studies immediately.
Another student also gave his opinion about the university but wants his name off-print. He said: “Unlike the public universities, like University of Abuja, where I first applied to, this place does not have issues of strike actions that could delay students’ graduation. Moreover, I am told, if one worked hard, one could earn an exchange programme that takes one to another university abroad to learn new ways. That’s my excitement!”