Interview 2
Queen Idia press had the opportunity to interview an Idiaite and she took us through her ordeals of navigating the new online semester.
QIP: Good afternoon once again, and thank you for agreeing to take this interview. Can we meet you? What do you want us to know about you in just a few words?
Miss Ajiyo: Okay, my name is Ajiyo Ifeoluwakishii, a student at the Faculty of Veterinarian Medicine. I’m currently in four hundred (400) level and I’m an Idiate or used to be.
QIP: Alright, thanks for that information. Okay, in your own view, what do you feel about the new development? This new development that students have to learn away from school. What do you feel personally in your own view? What do you feel about it?
Miss Ajiyo: Personally, I think I will understand it’s just an adaptation to..a temporary adaptation to the circumstances or situations that we find ourselves because of the current pandemic. I understand that we cannot gather together and learn, and we just have to adapt ourselves to whatever opportunity is made available for us.
QIP: Alright, thank you very much for that. How was it like getting accommodation? Which state did you come from? How is the accommodation like for you? Also, why did you come all the way from your state down to Ibadan, even though they said it’s going to be E-learning? What prompted you to actually come closer to school?
Miss Ajiyo: Okay, the getting accommodation part. I only got the chance to stay in the hall in my first year. That was the easiest time for me to stay in the hall because as a fresher, I was kind of entitled to having a room. But after that, it’s been really difficult and I’ve totally given up on it, but I know at this time because of the high demand to get rooms, I know people who have been trying to get accommodation and it has been really.. really..it has become a challenge. There’s no enough space, the good ones are already taken up, the ones that are available right now — their prices are so high. Then, what made me come all the way from Lagos is one, the peculiarity of my course. We’re supposed to have practicals, so I really don’t know how the school wants to run a medical course (so to say) without me having to do practicals. Are they trying to? I mean in the end now, they’ll say we’re half baked medical students. So I came because one, I thought my faculty can change their mind along the line and say, okay you’ll have to come around for practicals and all.
Secondly, it wasn’t going to be easy for me to study at home. Being at home, even though some people will say, ‘Don’t worry, your parents will give you time to do this, it won’t be really easy. There’s no way, especially when you have younger ones, and I have a niece. How would I explain to my niece that I have to be in front of my computer or my phone and I’m actually learning when she’ll want me to help her with her homework and help her with this. And my parents can’t be doing chores or my siblings doing chores around the house and I’m just like ‘I’m in school’ I get it but I have to create time for myself to focus but also I cannot just neglect the responsibilities that will fall on me if I was at home.
Thirdly, I’m... well my faculty or .. how will I put it? Yes, will I say my faculty has... Well, I know other facilities are also tough but in Vet, we sort of have this actually true belief — that you really cannot study everything on your own because there’s always going to be something you don’t know, so group discussion, no matter how small no matter how large, one on one discussion will actually go a long way for us as students. Me being at home and wanting to have a discussion with my classmates over the internet really will not really help me unlike if we’re all around and we’re able to have one on one discussion, and we’re able to discuss, it will really go a long way to help me. Those are like one or two and (chuckles) three reasons why I came around.
QIP: Wow! Wow! Those are really good reasons. Yeah, those are really good reasons and I wish you the best in your academic pursuit. Okay, so now I want to ask about the pandemic. During the lockdown, was there anything you were doing? Maybe like business or anything you were doing, and how did that thing you were doing survive in the pandemic?
Miss Ajiyo: Okay, during the pandemic. I was running a business before the pandemic and because of the pandemic it just had to be on hold. Because it was a business I was running within the school environment so because there was no school it just had to be put on hold. But other than that, during the pandemic sincerely all I just did was, took a few courses, went for IT for some months. Then, I was into some online organization that held online programs so, obviously, these survived during the pandemic. Ah...I think I entered into one competition (chuckling) that I did not even win. So, all of those things were just mainly online. They were just sort of things that despite the pandemic, they could go on. So, I didn’t really put my hand into anything that wouldn’t have to go on during the pandemic. The business I was doing before the pandemic, I just put that aside and I just did whatever I could do online. That was just all.
QIP: Alright, that’s a good one. Okay, so what are the lessons and values you’ve learnt due to the pandemic effect?
Miss Ajiyo: Okay, one very key lesson that I actually learnt was that in the end, we’re actually alone and it’s whatever discipline, whatever habit, whatever.. value that you put in yourself is what will keep you regardless of what is going. So, while I was learning, of course, there were no some challenges. There were things I just needed to learn how to use, for example, zoom. One key lesson that I learnt was that I just have to be my own person. I have to make my own decisions regardless of wherever I find myself because, when the pandemic first came, and we were on lockdown, for like a few months, I (chuckles) wasn’t even stabilized, I did not know what to do with my own time like really didn’t know what to do. Because it’s a different thing when you plan six weeks holiday or eight weeks holiday and you’re like- this eight weeks holiday, I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that. And then, all of a sudden they just turn upside down. I had planned I will do IT but all of a sudden IT was cut off, this one was caught off. For like some months, I just had to be like — okay (chuckling) what I’m I going to do with my life right now. So it took the pandemic to teach me that I had to be prepared. I always had to be prepared and I had to be my own person, I just had to make my own decisions.
QIP: Okay, those are indeed great lessons. Yeah, those are great lessons. Okay, in this new normal we’ve all been forced to embrace, how do you intend to move forward in your career and business? Like, what approach do you think will be best for you at this time?
Miss Ajiyo: Well, like everybody else, I’m slowly adapting to using the internet. Like using the internet for more things rather than just connect with people. Now, to connect with them career-wise and to connect with them business-wise. Like, for instance between last week and this week, I found like yeah! Two online programs that were related to my career, that I could actually put myself into. There was a dog training course online and there was another one I found, I can’t remember. So, it’s obvious this is going to be the new normal. Even if we do intend to have some physical classes later, this is something we all need to adjust to. And then, there’s Jobberman there with their soft skills program. There are so many things, so we just have to adjust. There are so many ways of marketing, online marketing, affiliate marketing, other ways that you can actually sell your brand out there. So, I just have to adjust like everybody else.
QIP: True! True! The deed is done and we can’t undo it anymore. Okay, so what advice do you have for people in your shoes, like your course mates and people that have to do similar to what you did — like coming all the way and..a professional course at that. What advice do you have for people that are kind of in your shoes? Yeah, what advice? What do you want them to know? What do you want to tell them?
Miss Ajiyo: Well, that they should not be afraid to do what they need to do to get what they want. And just one of the same thing I keep telling myself. I’m still telling myself, I’m still trying to convince myself of it, is that — don’t be afraid of change and don’t be afraid to learn something new. Like, so many people know a lot about canva and I’m sincerely telling you (chuckling) I’m just about to learn about Canva. So, don’t be afraid of learning something new. Keep learning. We need to keep learning and we need to embrace change.
QIP: Yeah, thanks very much for that good advice. Okay so in your own view, what ideas do you think the school can adopt to make sure that learning is an interesting time for everyone? Do you have anything in mind that you want the school to know? Like any innovation or suggestion that the school can adapt to what is already on ground to actually make learning more comfortable and interesting and interactive as possible?
Miss Ajiyo: Well, I’ve not really thought of any innovation like that but now that the school is going to be virtual, there’s going to be the need on the side of the student to study more. Like it’s going to require more effort on the side of the student to study more. So, for facilities or departments with longer hours, I think the timetable should be flexible in such a way that the long hours are no longer long hours (laughs) I don’t know if that one makes any sense but they shouldn’t make it longer anymore because one, it’s going to become stressful because now it’s more of it’s going to be a more interactive session with my lecturers now because I’ll be expected to read, and I’ll come to talk to them about the things I don’t understand, then they could help us out with it. So, you letting me or having me have up to eight to five (8 am-5 pm) classes, when even in physical classes — 8 am to 5 pm classes, I’m like usually tired half the time. Now, it being online and I have to make more effort to study more, having eight to five classes is really not necessary. It’s just going to be like a cage for me again. So, that’s the only thing. They should just make the hours shorter for faculties that have longer hours before. But in terms of innovations on what they should do, I really haven’t thought of it.
QIP: Alright, no problem. Sure, that makes sense. Like, having to reduce the learning hours really makes sense, yes! So, is there anything else you want us to know? Anything else on your mind that you’d just like to say?
Miss Ajiyo: No, nothing.
QIP: Alright, thanks a lot for your time. I really appreciate your kind effort to take this interview. Thanks very much for your time and I wish you a very successful academic session.
Miss Ajiyo: Amen. You are welcome. Thank you for asking me.
QIP: You’re welcome.
