EBSU Names Ugochukwu Madu Best Graduating Student in Mass Communication

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

At the 12th to 15th Convocation Ceremony of Ebonyi State University (EBSU), Abakaliki, held on Saturday, April 20, 2024, the university recognized Ugochukwu Madu as one of the two Best Graduating Students in the Department of Mass Communication for the class of 2019. The 12th to 15th convocation ceremony, which marked the official graduation of four academic cohorts spanning from 2019 to 2022, drew a large gathering of students, faculty, alumni and other distinguished guests.

Madu was honored alongside Nworie Chukwuebuka Stephen for earning the department’s highest academic distinction. Out of 135 Mass Communication graduates in the Class of 2019, only two earned First Class bachelor’s degrees. Madu emerged as one of them, finishing in the top 1% of his departmental cohort and placing him among the top 0.3% of 1,924 graduates across 87 programs in that academic year. He also had the fourth highest CGPA university-wide for the class of 2019.

Vice-Chancellor Prof. Chigozie Ogbu, while presenting convocation statistics during a pre-event press briefing, confirmed that 90 students across the four graduating sets earned First Class honors. For the 2019 cohort, Madu was joined by other first-class graduates including Nworie Chukwuebuka Stephen (Mass Communication), Udum Victory Chisom, Amagu Uguru Philip (Food Science and Technology), Eze Ogechi (Languages and Linguistics), and Njoku Victor Tobechukwu (Biochemistry).

“EBSU continues to produce graduates who distinguish themselves academically and demonstrate excellence in their disciplines. This convocation is a celebration of resilience and a reaffirmation of our university’s dedication to academic excellence,” Prof. Ogbu stated.

In total, 9,559 graduates were conferred with academic degrees at the ceremony, with 8,278 earning first degrees and the remainder completing postgraduate programs. The university also used the occasion to confer honorary doctorate degrees and install Prince Arthur Eze as its new Chancellor.

Although Madu was unable to attend the convocation in person due to his ongoing PhD studies in the United States, he participated virtually in the ceremony. Speaking in a telephone interview, he expressed his gratitude for the recognition and reflected on his academic journey at the university. The Vice-Chancellor announced that awards would be made available for collection from the Registrar’s office.

For Madu, who has since gone on to pursue advanced graduate studies abroad, the honor marks a defining moment in a growing record of academic excellence, leadership and community service. His recognition as one of the two Best Graduating Students in Mass Communication further underscores his distinction as one of the university’s brightest alumni from the 2019 graduating class.