Rising Star: Loren Adetutu Gomez Shines as Top Female Graduate at Nigerian Law School

Loren Adetutu Gomez's academic journey culminated in remarkable achievements, graduating with a First Class from the Nigerian Law School. Her prior excellence at the University of Lagos saw her finish in the top 5% of her class, but her law school success reached new heights as she was honored as the Joint Best Female Graduating Student and the Joint Second Best Graduating Student of the Nigerian Law School Class of 2026. This extraordinary feat, she admits, still feels surreal, with a part of her struggling to believe those accolades are attached to her name.

Her law school journey began with a grand plan to start the curriculum early, though this ambition waned quickly. Posted to the Abuja Campus, she had minimal time to prepare, leading to a long bus journey from Ibadan with friends. Settling in was eased by choosing her friend Dolapo, also a First Class graduate from the University of Lagos, as a roommate. The first pre-class assignment received during the registration week quietly set the tone for her entire law school experience, marking the true beginning of her rigorous academic pursuit from day one.

Reflecting on her experience, Gomez succinctly describes law school as a process that "strips you down to your habits." She emphasizes that survival depends not on fleeting motivation, but on diligently built habits that sustain one even on days when showing up feels impossible. Fortunately, she had already cultivated such a culture during her undergraduate years at the University of Lagos, where consistent library visits instilled the discipline of studying for long hours. This pre-existing consistency became a significant advantage in her law school endeavors.

From the outset, Gomez harbored a singular goal: a First Class or nothing. So committed was she that she resigned from her job before law school to dedicate eight months entirely to this objective. However, this confidence was not unwavering; there were numerous moments of exhaustion and overwhelming pressure when a 2:1 seemed like a perfect, acceptable outcome. She clarifies that law school isn't inherently difficult in its questions, but rather in the sheer volume of material to read, understand, remember, and apply within severely limited timeframes.

Understanding this challenge early on, she made a strict promise to herself: never to have a "zero day." Every single day, she engaged with law school-related tasks. If too tired to read, she would tackle Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs); if unwell, she would review drafts or cases, refusing to completely disconnect from her studies. While a First Class was her primary goal, graduating as one of the best students was never part of her initial plan, making the eventual outcome even more surprising.

Her life outside academics was surprisingly simple. She confessed to gaining weight due to a routine primarily revolving around eating, reading, and sleeping. A naturally quiet person, she didn't form many new friendships, preferring the company of her UNILAG friends also on the Abuja Campus. Her presence was largely unnoticed in class; she rarely spoke or asked questions, preferring to mind her own business. Her daily routine involved attending classes, chatting with friends, eating, returning to her room to read, sleeping, and repeating the cycle.

Despite the intense focus, Gomez still managed to have fun, attending parties, visiting attractions like Magicland, and hanging out with friends, always ensuring her daily reading was completed first. A crucial aspect of her success was setting realistic goals, opting for manageable targets like completing one topic, doing MCQs, and attempting past questions, rather than ambitious, unachievable daily reading quotas. She prioritized understanding over speed, believing that law school rewards deep comprehension far more than rote memorization.

A significant lesson she learned was the absence of a universal study method. What worked for others might not work for her, necessitating comfort with changing strategies. Initially, she attempted detailed note-taking, a method effective at UNILAG, but quickly realized it was too time-consuming for law school's vast curriculum. She adapted by printing SA Badmus’s materials and integrating them with class slides and lecture notes, freeing up more time for understanding rather than rewriting. She also experimented with study environments, finding her room or an empty common room more conducive to concentration than the library.

Her approach to pre-class preparation also evolved. After the first week, she stopped reading topics before lectures, discovering she learned better by entering class with a