A young African lady named Hauwa Umar Usman who battled memory loss in school has finally won as she bagged an Aeronautical Engineering degree from the University Of Brighton, United Kingdom.
Hauwa, a Nigerian lady bagged her bachelors of science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Brighton in United Kingdom with a First-Class honors. She was one of the four students who graduated with a first class from her department in the 2016/2017 academic session.
According to Opera News, Hauwa is the first Northern lady to study Aeronautical Engineering, making her part of the very few females in Nigeria to earn the engineering degree. She said she developed a passion for Aero-space at a very young age while playing with aeroplane toys and kites with the hope of becoming a pilot later in life.
”As a child, my dream was to become a pilot and it was partly a fallout of that encounter I narrated earlier. I used to imagine what it was like for pilots to take off and land, most especially at night, when one could barely see far and also, flying in the sky for hours,” she said.
”Over the years, as I grew older, I became more aware of the need for aviation safety in the country due to the plane crashes we had in the past. So, I settled for aeronautical engineering,” she added.
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Hauwa mentioned that she has struggled with forming words correctly, having difficulty remembering or naming letters, numbers and colors and it was during her studies in United Kindgom, her condition was diagnosed as Dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a disorder characterised by having problems forming words correctly, having difficulty remembering or naming letters, numbers and colors, and in the early stage of a child it also involves difficulty in learning nursery rhymes or playing rhyming games.
“During my studies in England, I experienced some challenges, which a British friend noticed were signs of dyslexia and suggested that I take a dyslexia test,” she said. Despite her diagnosis, Hauwa said she was able to pull through with the help of the Dyslexia team at the University of Brighton.
”I had never heard of dyslexia ever in my life. I contacted the dyslexia team at the university and they were very helpful in explaining the disability and I was told that even the smartest scientist like Albert Einstein had this disability,” she added.
Hauwa also shared that adapting to her field of study which is male dominated and excelling in it was through hard work and stepping out of her comfort zone.
She added that understanding strategic ways to manage her learning difficulties and having a positive mind set helped her a lot. Hauwa expressed her gratitude to her family for encouraging her during her most challenging times.
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