Hauwa Umar Usman Graduates With 1st Class In Aeronautical Engineering From UK
A Nigerian student of northern
extraction, Ms. Hauwa Umar Usman has bagged a First Class (Honours)
degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Brighton in
United Kingdom (UK).
Hauwa Usman is the first Northern lady
to have studied Aeronautical Engineering, making her among the very few
females in Nigeria to study such a discipline. Reports from an online
medium, Global Sentinel, revealed that she was among the few to have
bagged First Class in the history of the school and the first Nigerian
female to achieve such feat.
Hauwa is the daughter of a respected former Nigerian Army Chief of Transport and Logistics, Maj-Gen. Umar T. Usman (rtd.).
The elated father said “Hauwa has made us proud and she truly deserves to be celebrated.”
Hauwa was born in Kano. She attended
Crescent International School in Kano from primary to junior secondary;
she spent most of her childhood in Kano, at the age of 14 her family
moved to Abuja, where she completed her secondary school education from
year 10 to year 12 at Lead British International School, after which she
moved to England for further education.
Her education in England began at the EF
Language school in Cambridge, where she studied Engineering for her
University foundation preparation year 2012-2013. Hauwa was accepted to
study Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Brighton in 2013.
She is the third daughter of Maj-Gen UT Usman (rtd).
Hauwa said her curiosity for an
aircraft’s ability to remain airborne, flight control systems and
related aviation safety issues in the country led her to choose
Aeronautical engineering.
She shared her story, saying: “My choice
to study Aeronautical Engineering was one out of curiosity for
aircrafts at a young age. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into
due to how challenging and demanding the male dominated course could be.
“My father has been very supportive
since day one of my academic journey. He had always taught me to be
patient, learn from my mistakes and always do my best, because ‘my best
is enough.”
“Despite the odds, I was determined that
I would not let myself down and most especially my father. Because, I
knew he had sacrificed so much to make sure I have the best education.
“During my studies in England, I
experienced some challenges, which a British friend noticed were signs
of dyslexia and suggested that I take a dyslexia test. I had never heard
of dyslexia ever in my life. I contacted the dyslexia team at the
University and they were very helpful in explaining the disability and I
was told that even the smartest scientist like Albert Einstein had this
disability.” According to Hauwa, dyslexia is a “specific learning
difficulty” that can cause certain problems with the ability used for
learning, such as reading, writing, understanding a task etc. She
however, stressed that her intelligence was not affected as she
undertook the stages of assessment for dyslexia “and it was discovered
that I had a certain level of learning difficulty. The most important
thing at that stage in my life was how to manage and develop a strategic
way to understand where my difficulties affected me more”.
She further said: “While studying, I had
my ups and downs and at the edge of wanting to give up, I always
remembered my father’s words ‘it’s a challenge studying Aeronautical and
yet you have come this far and I am so proud of you’. My mother had
taught me to never lose hope in anything I do and that my hard work
won’t go in vain and Allah’s mercy will always be with me.”
She stressed that her “success in
Aeronautical Engineering has been through hard work, stepping out of my
comfort zone, understanding strategic ways to manage my learning
difficulties, having a positive mind set and most importantly the
encouragement from my family and friends during my most challenging
times, allowed me to be amongst the very few with a first class degree
in Aeronautical Engineering”.
Hauwa had some words of advice for young
Nigerians, saying: “Verily with hardship comes ease” Quran (94:6) “The
need to diagnose dyslexia in individuals especially at a younger age by
both parents and teaching staff members in Nigeria needs to be
emphasised more.”
She urged that “no child should be hit or beaten because they do not understand a task”.
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