Nigeria’s Oyindamola Adeniyi named 2024 student orator at University of York

A Nigerian Oyindamola Adeniyi has obtained a medical degree from the University of York in the United Kingdom.

The University of York’s Hull York Medical School recently graduated its 2024 class and Adeniyi addressed the audience.

The ceremony hosted over one thousand guests including the graduates, parents of the alumni, and academics of various backgrounds.

The University of York runs an annual student orator scheme for exceptional individuals to speak on behalf of a graduating cohort.

Selected as the year’s student orator in a competitive process, Adeniyi spoke on resilience, intentionality, and the value of education.

She recounted how her family moved to the UK two decades ago and how their belief in the power of education shaped her path.

On her time at university, Adeniyi highlighted the importance of making intentional decisions despite the predictability of life’s path.

“I urge us to respect this map but avoid slipping into the routine,” the young graduate advised her colleagues.

Adeniyi acknowledged the challenges she faced over the past five years, including political uncertainty and a global pandemic.

She spoke generally on grief, loss, and mental health, and how the resilience her peers have shown throughout their university journey.

“At Hull York Medical School, we’ve been taught that intentionality and resilience are essential to becoming good doctors,” she said.

Adeniyi encouraged the class of 2024 to choose a cause, serve with passion, and commit to excellence in whatever field they pursue.

She also encouraged graduates to view life as a series of opportunities to live fully and make mundane moments matter.

Present at the graduation ceremony was Abiodun Adeniyi, a professor at Baze University professor in Nigeria.

Also present were Adeniyi’s mother Cleopatra Adeniyi and the graduate’s siblings Doyinsola and Oyinkansola.

Hull York Medical School is a medical school in England which took its first intake of students in 2003.

It was opened as a part of the British government’s attempts to train more doctors, along with the Brighton & Sussex Medical School, Peninsula Medical School, and the University of East Anglia Medical School.