A young lady has shared her experience as she entered her sixth year as a PhD candidate at the University of Ibadan, revealing how her program was prolonged beyond the expected three years. Her story has sparked reactions on social media as she opened up about navigating the delay in her doctoral studies.
Six Years Instead of Three
Adedolapo Oluwadamilola Awoniyi, a Nigerian lady, spoke about her PhD journey at the University of Ibadan. She shared that she would be rounding up her program in her sixth year. On her LinkedIn page, she admitted that if she had known her PhD would take this long, she might not have started. Her post read: 'Your PhD is taking longer than expected!!! I started my PhD in 2020, but let's just say coronavirus totally rendered that year almost useless, so I can say I started my PhD properly in 2021 at the University of Ibadan. With high hopes that after three years I would be done and move on. I'm sure if God had shown me a glimpse of what my PhD journey would look like, I would have opted out without thinking twice. Now I'm in my 6th year rounding up, and I would like to share how I dealt with the unplanned, prolonged PhD journey.'
Lessons from the Delay
Awoniyi emphasized that she was not a nonchalant or lazy student; she was serious, focused, and gave her all but still could not finish in three years. She offered tips for handling unexpected delays: 1. Understand that there is a purpose for the delay. She noted that if she had finished in three years, she would not have the mastery and experience she now has in research. 2. Enjoy the process. In her fourth year, she realized she was only looking forward to the end and never tried to enjoy being a PhD student. 3. Understand that no two people have the same PhD experience; embrace your unique path. 4. Surround yourself with encouraging people, not those who constantly question why your journey is prolonged. 5. Keep praying, as prayer gave her strength to keep pushing. She concluded: 'I hope this encourages a PhD candidate like me to keep pushing!!!'
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In a related story, UNILAG's best graduating student shared how he was rejected by the University of Ibadan, while another graduate staged a one-man protest over unemployment. LASU's best graduating student also opened up about her admission experience in an interview with Legit.ng, sharing her admission struggle, school experience, and future goals.
