A Nigerian girl, Anne-Marie Imafidon, 20, has joined the league of youngest students to receive a Combined Masters Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the prestigious Oxford University.
Imafidon, an indigene of Edo State, bagged the Degree from Keble College.
“Education is such an important part of young people’s lives and I want to get the message out there to the youth that learning is such a vital element in their growth. I also want them to understand that mathematics is essentially a game of numbers,’’ she said in an interview with NAN in London.
“I’m proud of myself. I’m glad that this has been the result of years of hard work,” she added.
Also speaking to Barking and Dagenham Post, a UK publication, the young scholar put the formula for her success down to three main factors. “It’s my motivation, I have a supportive family and I worked out what I’m good at,” she said.
Anne Marie, who lives in the Docklands with her family,a first noticed her love for numbers at the age of eight. She recalled, “I had a maths teacher who was very encouraging. And it was quite obvious that I liked maths and maths liked me.”
She is also a mentor for VLP Excellence in Education – a programme in Thames Road, Barking that helps children from deprived areas in London with education and motivation. In addition, she gives free study guidance to students via her family website www.imafidon.com.
On her plans for the future, she said, “I’m continuing to work with the Excellence in Education programme and I would like to still be doing my mentoring and motivate children from Inner London and from similar backgrounds as mine. It’s very rewarding.”
