July 19, 2014 by Tunde Ajaja
Justus Ndukaife
Twenty
seven years old Justus Ndukaife graduated with a First Class degree, he
had a Distinction in his Master’s degree programme in the US and is
currently a 4.0/4.0 grade Ph.D student in US. He shares in this
interview with TUNDE AJAJA how he has achieved his successes so far
How did your education journey start?
I had my undergraduate education at the
University of Lagos, Nigeria, where I had a First Class Degree in
Electrical and Computer Engineering with 4.59/5.00 CGPA in 2009. I
travelled to the United States in 2010 for my postgraduate studies at
Purdue University, which I completed in 2012 with a CGPA of 3.86/4.00.
After my Masters programme, I was admitted into the Ph.D programme in
Electrical Engineering in the same university in West-Lafayette. I am
currently a PhD student with CGPA of 4.0/4.0. I am also a recipient of
the National Society of Black Engineers Board of Corporate Affiliates
Scholarship, which was awarded during the 15th Annual Golden Torch
Awards ceremony at the NSBE Annual Convention in 2012 in the Davis
Lawrence Convention Centre in Pittsburgh, PA. I was invited and inducted
into the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honour Society in 2011, and the Golden
Key International Honour Society in 2014. I am currently the President
of the Nanotechnology Student Advisory Council at the Birck
Nanotechnology Centre at Purdue University, USA.
Was it your plan to study to this level when you were young?
Yes, even though I never had a good
understanding of what it meant then until I got older. I have always had
the passion to contribute to science and technology development in my
life, and to do so, I believe I need to work towards a Ph.D degree.
Was that why you chose to study Electrical and Computer Engineering as an undergraduate?
Prior to finishing from secondary school,
we had a session whereby some professionals spoke to us about different
careers, such as in Engineering, Medicine, Banking etc, and some of the
emphasis and requirements of those disciplines. I personally decided to
study Electrical and Computer Engineering because of my love for
mathematics. I believe that area would enable me to put my mathematics
skill to use and do what I love doing. Based on my experience now, I
believe I headed the right direction.
Since you had a first class
in your first degree, why didn’t you do your postgraduate studies in
Nigeria or at least stay to work for some time?
I was not satisfied with my level of
education (Bachelor’s degree) then. I was interested in going for more.
It has always been part of my plan to travel for my postgraduate
studies. The primary reason why I travelled to the United States was to
enable me to pursue advanced degree(s) where there are plenty of
resources and state-of-the-art facilities for research and technology
development.
What were the decisions you took that helped you when you entered university?
My initial decision was to take my
studies very seriously and be the best that I could possibly be. When I
got into the university, I realised that there were different kinds of
lifestyles one could live on campus, so I weighed the advantages and the
disadvantages, and I decided to devote my time and energy towards
developing my mind and laying a solid foundation for my future career.
All my days as an undergraduate, I never visited a nightclub and I don’t
feel I missed anything worthwhile by not doing so. I certainly believe
that if I had not made the choice I made, I would not be where I am
today or doing what I do today.
Did anyone influence the decision(s)?
To a large extent, my parents influenced
me. They sacrificed so much to give me and my siblings the best
education they could afford, so, I always want to make them happy by
living up to their expectations, which entails striving to be the best. I
was also very determined to succeed and make a mark in our world and by
so doing set a good record and example for those who look up to me.
Have you always been coming first in your former schools?
Not really. I met a very serious academic
and morally inclined environment when I got to my desired secondary
school, Saint Francis Catholic Secondary School, Idimu Lagos, even
though my parents could not afford the fees initially. I used to
struggle with my classes then. I recall scoring 1/20 in my first Physics
test and 2.5/20 in my Further Maths test. I worked very hard, made
friends with the smartest folks in class then, and asked my teachers
lots of questions during office hours. With time, I managed to improve,
and made 8th position in class that term. With persistent hard work, I
made 5th, 2nd, and 1st positions the subsequent terms. I eventually
finished top of my class at SFCSS, while receiving several Best Student
Awards. When I was an undergraduate, I had first class as my CGPA
throughout my stay, and I also did receive some scholarship support from
UNILAG for maintaining a First Class CGPA consistently. So, I was
conscious of what I wanted.
Does it mean you never
thought you would be this brilliant, also considering that you had to
work very hard to move from 8th position to the 1st?
Yes, absolutely. I was not inspired or
intellectually engaged in my first secondary school until I was enrolled
into Saint Francis Catholic Secondary School and I never discovered my
true potentials until I got there. My zeal for learning and commitment
to my studies was revitalised and to a large extent, the success I have
earned so far has its foundation in my experience there. I am very
pleased to have had the privilege of attending that school and I thank
my parents for believing in me and giving me that opportunity.
You had distinction during
your Master’s programme and a 4.0/4.0 in the Ph.D programme you are
currently running in the US, how did you achieve it?
Of course, nothing good comes easy. I had
to sacrifice several nights of sleep for sure. I also had to sacrifice
watching favourite TV programmes and movies. I think the greatest
sacrifice I made was to invest a good portion of my time and my youthful
days in my studies and towards building my future career. I think this
was certainly a wise choice, and as Jim Rohn once said, “Time is more
valuable than money, you can get more money, but you cannot get more
time.”
What is your lowest grade since the days of your Master’s programme?
I had a B+ once, which was around 83%.
What did your lecturers and supervisor think of you and your brilliance as a Nigerian?
Some of my professors commended me
indeed. I recall comments like ‘I am very proud of you’ and ‘I am very
pleased with your achievements and the great work you are doing.’ I also
felt proud when one of them told me, ‘It is difficult to impress me,
but I am very impressed with your presentation,’ and ‘this is very
impressive’ and so on. I also do appreciate a compliment from my MS
thesis adviser who, after my thesis defence, was very impressed with my
performance and took me out for lunch.
What do you do differently that makes you so outstanding?
I usually invest quality time in what I
am doing. I spend serious time pondering and trying to comprehend the
relevant concepts, and the more time I spend doing so the better I
understand things. Additionally, I do a lot of thinking and meditation
and I think from experience, a lot of interesting ideas come in the
process.
What is your typical academic schedule like?
I use between eight and 12 hours on my
studies and research, depending on what other commitments I have for
that day, and I sleep about six hours daily.
Do you have sleepless nights when exam is approaching?
I only did that a couple of times as an
undergraduate. From my experience, I think it is good practice to have
about six hours of sleep the night before an exam, to ensure one’s mind
is alert while writing the paper. I always try to do that.
How often do you go to the library?
I go to the library like twice or thrice a
week now because I am able to access most of the library resources
online and have access to several conducive environments such as
computer labs, offices, etc for study. I spend some of my time now
running experiments in laboratories as well. During my undergraduate
days, I went to the library almost every day.
It is believed that students
who excel academically are often confronted with gestures from female
friends, do you have such experience?
Most of my female friends appear to be
very serious minded and occupied with their studies and do not appear to
have plenty of time to go about luring guys. I do try to avoid places
where I could get lured, so I don’t get distracted. One of my decisions
when I came here is that I will not be distracted from my goals, and I
promised myself to strive to be the best that I can possibly be and make
every effort on my work to be as thorough as possible. Even though I do
receive several kind gestures from my female friends, I don’t interpret
them as anything more than that.
Do you hope to come back home to pick up a job?
Yes, I do hope to someday help in the technological development of Nigeria.
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