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Here is the heart-lifting story of a young man who creates a rare but viable path for himself through his journey from the enriched landscapes of Nigeria to a community of chemistry and chemical engineering scholars at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, ranked the 22nd best University in the world. Dr. Joshua A. Bolarin who hails from Aiyetoro Gbede town in Ijumu LGA of Kogi State represents an uncommon miracle and an epitome of wonders beyond description. His remarkable route to academic fame began in Kabba, where he attended Sacred Heart Nursery and Primary School and Saint Augustine’s College for his primary and secondary education, respectively. He proceeded to Kwara State College of Education, Oro, for teachers’ chemistry and biology education training. Representing a typical Nigerian kid back then, Dr. Joshua never wanted to become a teacher but a cardiothoracic surgeon. However, his academic prowess and passion for teaching science became evident when he began to give tutorials to classmates and colleagues on and off the college campus.
After graduation, Dr. Joshua was admitted directly to study Chemistry Education at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He became one of the top three best-graduating students in his class (2013). With tenacity, he moved to the University of Ibadan for his master’s degree in Inorganic Chemistry, and upon graduation he got a lecturing role at Salem University, Lokoja, where he taught undergraduate chemistry courses until he moved to the People’s Republic of China. In 2019, Dr. Joshua won a two-in-one doctoral scholarship from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, China, to pursue a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry. After his dissertation, in 2023, he assumed a postdoctoral research scholar position at the University of Michigan, USA.
