Kunle Adelabu
13-year-old Treasures-Olawunmi Jephthah, is a Grade 8 student of The Ambassadors College, Ota, Ogun State, who was among the outstanding 16 students that represented their schools and Nigeria, at the 2026 International STEM Olympiad held in Rome, Italy.
While The Ambassadors’ contingent won 15 gold medals, nine silver medals, nine bronze medals and one honourary mentioning, young Treasures-Olawunmi Jephthah, son of Treasures -Olawunmi Bayode Jonathan, one time Guinness Book of World Record holder in both individual and group Read Aloud Competitions, won two golds in Codeminimum and Science grade 6 -8.
Nigeria, once again, demonstrated its growing strength in STEM education in Rome, with 145 students representing the country from seven leading secondary schools across the country, competing at the global level alongside participants from over 50 other nations.
Treasures-Olawunmi Jephthah, like every other participant, got enlisted for the global STEM competition after scaling through three online screenings/examinations.
Speaking with THE IMPACT on his experiences at the global competition over the week, Treasures-Olawunmi Jephthah, who was challenged health wise during the competition, but refused the allow that affects his performances, expressed his gratefulness to God for the success in representing his country.
Explaining the process of the competitions, he said that participants who were top students from 52 other countries engaged in an online and written examinations.
“I am grateful to God for the opportunity to represent the country, and I feel ecstatic and ready to give my best.
“There were online based coding exams, then, the paper-based STEM exams.
“I was competing against 52 different countries, so it was tense. I could tell that everyone there were for the top. I practiced a lot because I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and I thank God for the best results”, young Jephthah said.
Speaking on lessons learnt during the competition in Rome, Treasures-Olawunmi Jephthah said:
“It taught me a lot; mostly to take care of myself like missing breakfast while I was focus on the job at hand, but I had to go for lunch and dinner. I was aided by the supervisor. I also gained confidence, self -control, diligence and comportment”.
While advocating for government support in developing and exposing students in Nigeria to STEM education, Jephthah said that proper knowledge in this regard would expose Nigerian students to global realities.
”This could be a way to show the world the true minds of Nigerians, and to broading students’ experiences by exposing them to the world; new knowledge and depth. It will help them build their portfolios with international awards and make them stand out differently among their peers”, he said.
The International STEM Olympiad Grand Finale is an annual event that brings together some of the brightest young minds in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics to compete, collaborate, and solve real-world problems. The competition features various challenges, including mathematics, science, bridge building, and plane challenges across different grade levels.
