ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE By Nweke, Emmanuel Onyekachi PhD

Pep Talk Presented to Teenage Church, SpiritBreed Parish, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Ada George, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, Sunday 21st September, 2025

INTRODUCTION

If academic excellence is not important, we wouldn’t talk about it. Academic excellence is a tool of posterity, a measure of survival. Everything there is in life revolves around excellence. Technology, for instance is a product of excellence. There is hardly any contemporary or primordial essence of life that is not a derivative of academic or learning excellence. Academics has been used interchangeably as learning. So the Lecture Topic becomes, Learning/Academic Excellence. The idea is to accommodate the facet of teenagers that are learning trade or other informal forms of learning.

MEANING OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

This is the manifested ability to excel or succeed in academic, educational or scholastic endeavours. Academic excellence is beyond high or good grades but emphasizes more on intellectual growth, critical thinking and flexibility. It also includes the ability of converting what has been learnt into commercials. Commerce stands for ability to turn what has been learnt in the classroom, labs into marketable value sum called money. There is no need talking about academic excellence if it will not fetch money or improve our personal or group economy.

HOW TO ACHIEVE ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Academic excellence is not a mere wish. It is not about if horses were wishes, beggars would ride….no. It is hard work. It is critical thinking and analysis. It has to do with personal organization. Let us look at several ways to achieve academic excellence as a beginner student:

• Start with God. God is the ultimate excellence and giver of it.
• Have a personal time table away from the school, official time table. Be self- organized to manage your time table. Self-organization would mean your ability to manage house chores with your personal growth.
• Read everything – it is only studying that develops the mind. Critical thinking as listed above comes only through studying. At this point you have the ability to think independently.
• Choose your friends or allow them come to you to choose: who you go with influences greatly. Peers that are motivated by other factors of life should be avoided. You should be clear in thoughts enough to identify children of faulty background. This doesn’t mean they may not grow up to become ‘rich’. One major essence of academic excellence is to become responsible, constitutional members of the society.
• Plan ahead: Read or cover your semester or term work during holidays. Register with public libraries.
• Use academic sites that will guide you on personal note. Your data must not be wasted on unnecessary socialization.
• Avoid excessive socialization such as clubbing or joining dangerous or violent groups.

WHEN IS ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

The time is now. The time to begin is now. However, there is no time that is too late to begin. Today is the best day to start a journey on academic excellence. Not starting today, would imply procrastination and procrastination is the thief of time.

Why Academic Excellence

Academic excellence is not a choice. It is mandatory for all who would engage in education or schooling. It is important both for personal growth and national development. Countries that are doing better than others do so on the hinge of academic excellence. For the purpose of your age and this talk we shall dwell only on personal needs for academic excellence, thus:

 Your mind is prepared to think independently – this in other words is liberation, freedom from un-vetted reasoning. At this, you become in-charge of your world. You rule your world.

 Personal Economy – there is hardly any commercial or economic activity that is not a product of learning or academics. On the note of contemporary activities, the social media, logistics, oil and gas, renewable energy, Information Technology, are all products of academic excellence.

 Social and spiritual maturity – At academic excellence, you grow to know what you really want. You may no-longer be tossed to and fro on social and spiritual connections. You will have the emotional and mental balance to choose your right block. Right block is the group that connects you to your dreams and aspirations.

CONCLUSION

Academic Excellence is the essence of life. It means life of impact to the society and domestic family. Academic excellence gives time for personal economic growth and if properly aligned may lead to great reputation. Academic excellence is non-negotiable path to learning healthily, without the filthy path of making good grades without equivalent content. Academic excellence is not hidden, it manifests in one’s activities and progress in life.

APPRECIATION

I hereby acknowledge the Teenage Church of Spiritbreed Parish, Redeemed Christian Church of God. I hope this meets your need. Thank you