What I Did When I Saw My Third Class Degree - Deyemi Okanlawon

Deyemi Okanlawon is one of Nigeria's brightest shining actors today. Popularly for starring in blockbuster movies such as Omo Ghetto: The Saga and phenomenal television series like King of Boys: Return of The King, Deyemi is a talent to watch that has been taking Nigeria by storm since he landed in the entertainment industry.

But even though Deyemi has found his calling now and is making strides as a wonderful actor, his story was not always so rosy. Back in the day, Deyemi studied Chemical Engineering in the University of Lagos, and unfortunately for him, he ended up with a third-class degree.

Now, in a new interview, Deyemi is speaking about his result, how he felt about it at that time, how it happened, and what he said to a prospective employer who asked him about his grades. This is what Deyemi said about his third class degree.

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While on the TVC news show, Deyemi Okanlawon was asked by the interviewer:

"I know that you have businesses and I saw it somewhere how you were talking about how lucky you were to have finished with a third class and that it was what pushed you to start looking for... because of course you're not doing chemical engineering that you studied in school. Now people are shouting Deyemi is a fantastic actor so now you're going to talk to me about then, having finished with that grade, and now doing what you like and where you are at the moment?"

To this question about his third class degree, Deyemi responded:

So, I need to explain something really clearly. I studied engineering, University of Lagos. My first two years were very funny because I thought I was leaving the country so I played those first two years. I started reading in my third year and that's when I started having good grades but it was too late. Those heavy 4-unit courses destroyed my GPA, but I decided I was going to stay there, I felt at that age - I think I was 18 - if I start running away from things now, I'll keep running for the rest of my life. So I stayed and finished. I knew I was going to finish with a third class sometime towards the end of my stay and I said 'ya, that's it.' Now, at an interview a few months after I left school, I had a great conversation with the MD of this company. We had been talking for about twenty minutes, he now opened up my folder and he sees my grade and he goes, 'Hey, what happened? You finished with a third class? Such an intelligent young man, what happened?" I looked at him and said, "Sir, I finished with a third class certificate but a first class mind," and you see, I've always believed that about myself that it is who you call yourself that really matters, and eventually people will start calling you that which you call yourself. So to people out there who've had issues with their grades or gone through whatever they've gone through, it's really what you believe about yourself that counts.

Wow, I love that quote: "I finished with a third class certificate but a first class mind", that is a very good way to look at it. A bad certificate doesn't mean that a person is stupid - Deyemi is living proof of this. I'm so happy he's talking about it so openly and without shame because there are so many people out there that beat themselves up for not ending up with the type of grade they hoped for.

What do you think about what Deyemi said? He said so many quotes in his answer, which one was your favorite? I'd love to hear your thoughts about it. Leave a comment on my Facebook post with any thoughts you have about this, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

That's All.

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