19-year-old Miss Ifeoluwa Mercy Adeyemi, who graduated with first class honours in Microbiology with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.97 out of a possible five points, from Wesley University, Ondo, has attributed her success story to avoiding distractions.

Speaking during the 13th convocation ceremony of the institution, Adeyemi  attributed her success story to her parents for the motivation during her academic pursuits and said her desire to please her parents prompted her to make headway in her academic pursuit.

"At first, I have parents that I cannot disappoint. So this is one thing that keeps coming to my mind. Anytime I found distraction, it would keep telling me: your parents are out there that you need to make them proud.

"And then, you want to solve the problem in this world, especially in the health sector. And you have to put more effort into understanding this course, microbiology because it's one of the courses that deal with microorganisms, which deals with diseases and health.

"So I need to focus on it and I need to make my parents proud. So all these things came together and enabled me to focus even though there were distractions out there, I just made sure that I had to focus," she said.

According to her, she has the desire to pursue a Masters programme and subsequent Ph.D programme and said, "The next thing is to further my education, Masters degree and then, PhD degree. I want to become a research person,"

Speaking, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Sunday Samuel Obeka, said that 39 students had First Class Honours out of 230 graduating students.

Obeka noted that the university was deeply rooted in the Wesleyan tradition of holistic education, noting that the approach sharpens the intellect, cultivates character, and prays individuals for both community services and self-reliance.

Obeka added that the university was envisioned as a catalyst for reducing social ills and elevating lives through inclusive education.

The Vice-Chancellor noted that the institution had achieved remarkable milestones that could strengthen its position as a leading institution in the country through strategic partnership and rigorous curriculum review.

He said that the faculty members continued to receive training that would equip them with tools for impactful teaching to produce graduates who could excel both locally and internationally.

He enjoined the graduands to be stuck with Wesleyan heritage of excellence, integrity, and service in their endeavors.

The Vice-Chancellor asked government to support the medical colleges in private universities in terms of salary payment and provision of infrastructure in tackling the shortage of health workers in the country.

"The federal government should extend the hand of fellowship for supporting medical colleges for private universities, such as Wesley University, which now has the medical and allied courses, health sciences, the pharmacy, medicine and surgery, physiology, physiotherapy, health information management, human anatomy, and other programmes.

"These programmes, we believe, will address challenges of health sector in the country if government can help in salary payments and provision of infrastructure"