A Month Down the Runway: The Unfiltered Journey of A Psychology Student Who Emerged as Mr UI Exquisite

Balancing coursework, leadership, and the intense world of campus pageantry is no small feat. In this exclusive interview, Faith Ajewole sits down with Adefemi Oluwadamilola Adewunmi, a penultimate-year Psychology student who recently clinched a stellar position as Mr. UI Exquisite. From conquering deep-seated stage fright and navigating limited finances to handling bootcamp experiences and finding his stride on the big stage, Oluwadamilola opens up about the unfiltered grit, resilience, and mindset behind the crown.

By Faith Ajewole

PSYCHLENS: Good evening once again Mr. Damilola

Congratulations on your new title as Mr. UI Exquisite.

Before we dive right into the questions.

I would like that you properly introduce yourself, sir.

MR UI EXQUISITE: Good evening ma'am.

My name is ADEFEMI Oluwadamilola Adewunmi. A penultimate year student from the department of Psychology.

PSYCHLENS: Alright, great! Oluwadamilola.

This interview is majorly based on your new title as Mr. UI Exquisite and the journey so far,

My name is Faith Ajewole a representative of Psychlens Press.

So first on the list, would be, what made you decide to step up and throw your hat in the ring for this specific contest?

MR UI EXQUISITE: "okay. Good evening, ma'am.

So, yeah, about my choice for contesting for this, year's edition of Mr. and Miss Unibadan.

Firstly, I would like to say, I'm a fan of pageantry because my first experience was when I was in 100 level, after contesting for my faculty's pageantry, Mr. and Miss FATSSSA, 2025. I had a flair for it. I mean, before then, I loved modeling. But after getting into pageantry, I realized that modeling and pageantry are slightly different. So, I made up my mind after then that I would go on a bigger stage after the faculty, which the next one could be UI. Secondly, I like the feeling that comes with it. I mean, there's a feeling of euphoria that comes with pageantry. I used to have stage fright, but after I climbed the stage... and I believe that I can represent well. I mean, and I want to make people see my style for who I am. So, getting on a bigger stage gives me a very big platform to show how I can carry myself, to show how responsible I can be, to show how better or how good I can portray my styles."

PSYCHLENS: At what exact moment did you realize this role was actually within your reach?

MR UI EXQUISITE: "Okay, I also wanted to add that I needed to be seen. Yes, I needed to be seen. That was the reason I made up my mind to go on the bigger stage and contest the UI's pageantry.

The exact moment I realized the role was within my reach, was when I was convinced by the Head of the committee, because he told me he wanted to reach out to Faculty Royals of when I was a royal in, FATSSSA. Due to the fact that we didn't get to host a dinner last session, I still held on to the position.

So, we met coincidentally, and he told me he really wanted me to be a part of it, he sees my hard work, he sees my talent, and he would want me to be a part of this year's plan. And then, I sat, I thought about it, 'I want to be seen, I want to be known, I want to show what I can offer.'

Then, I realized that if anybody could do it, I can also do it. If I had done it before, I could do it better. And since I initially wanted it, I would still go for it, and then I made the decision to go for it. Though the finances were not there, trust me, but I mean, human effort is a lot. I was able to speak to a lot of people, pull things right and left. And glory be to God, it wasn't in vain. All my effort didn't go to waste. I came up with something prosperous."

PSYCHLENS: Alright Oluwadamilola, that's great!

Up next, you mentioned stage fright as one of the obstacles you faced. Looking back to the first day, since you began your campaign for the contest, what was your biggest fear or doubt, and how did you overcome it?

MR UI EXQUISITE: "Stage fright has been something that I experienced right from secondary school. Still continued after gaining admission into the university, I never thought I could do anything on the stage. I mean, it started from when we were called out for class presentations. I always shiver whenever I want to talk. And it got to the point where I was even given the role of a group leader, which means I need to do majority of the work, assigning duties and even most of the time start with introducing the topics that we need to present in class.

But then, when I started to become "popular", I mean, I relate with many other people, oh, these are still my classmates, my level-mates, my friends, people I see on a daily basis. So, I see no reason I should be scared while talking to them, even while standing on the podium. The way I talk to them outside is still the way I should talk to them in a class, but just with some set of rules because we are in a classroom.

So, I put the mentality of a presentation in my head. Meaning when I stand in front of crowds to address a lot of people, there is something I learned while in senior secondary school, that while you are talking on a bigger stage, you don't look into the eyes of people or don't look at their expressions, so you don't get frightened. Instead, look at their hair, like just look at the heads of different people. So, I implemented that technique into presenting my other appearances on stage.

I also had positive moral support from my manager and my close friends, like we were all out, they went all out for me. Always instilling that thought of you can do it, you will do it, you are winning it. Having that at the back of my mind, I knew I was never going to do anything mediocre. So, I feel like from that part, the fright was conquered already."

PSYCHLENS: Interesting!

What was the most grueling or unexpected part of the selection/competition process, for you, especially when it became tighter and the bars got raised, even higher?

MR UI EXQUISITE: "The selection process, how was it for me? It was, I mean, one thing about me is I always prepare for the future. I knew I was definitely going to encounter a lot of stress, it's going to be time-consuming and I would need to sacrifice a lot of things.

I also thank God that my classes were during the day, which is in the morning and afternoon, because rehearsals were mostly evening, so evening to night I always got home very late, stressed, hungry. So I just shower, pray and then go to bed immediately.

Very little times I use my phone. Sometimes I sleep hungry, and wake up the next day. Those are the sacrifices I was able to make. On some days, I missed classes where we had to go do some photoshoots and other things.

So all those things, I believe that it was part of the selection process because, I mean, they have to see your resilience, they have to see your sacrifice, they have to see how you can relate well with people. All those things also have their marks.

So it wasn't really hard for me because I was just being me."

PSYCHLENS: Alright!

Did you face Skepticism and negative feedback from people?

If yes, how did you handle that?

MR UI EXQUISITE: "Yes, I faced negative feedback. I mean, I got that while we were at the boot camp. I mean, one thing about me is I'm very observant, I love to observe a lot. And the way I relate to people is, I relate to almost everybody the same way. But there's something I noticed, some people already had their cliques, I won't call them cliques, but like a gang, they already enjoy the company of one another, so they were together, do you understand? And majority of them from that group said the same thing about me. So it's more like what they think, or what they planned, let me put it that way.

While other people that I related with had different opinions. I was bothered about it because why are these particular people saying this particular thing about me? But then, it was very close to the grand finale, so I didn't let it get to me. I didn't let whatever they thought about me, I didn't let it tell on me. The way I handle it, I mean, just silently thought about it, a few hours, though I was overwhelmed, because all what they said was parading in my head. I started getting anxious about the event, about the D-day. I got back home, I spoke to my managers, they were always talking positively, telling me not to think too much about it. So, I was re-oriented. So, when I saw it from that light, I didn't hold grudges, I didn't think twice about it. I already let it stay at the venue for boot camp. When I came back to UI, I came back with another orientation."

PSYCHLENS: Wow! That's really something. But it's really nice to see how you handled it.

What strategy or pivot did you make behind the scenes that you think changed the momentum in your favour?

MR UI EXQUISITE: I didn't do anything extraordinary.

Just constant rehearsals, positive mindset, and aim for the win.

It was deserved, not like anything changed in my favour.

PSYCHLENS: Oluwadamilola, If you could go back in time, what is that one thing you might have just done better, throughout the whole process?

MR UI EXQUISITE: "I had little time to plan for some things, for example getting a costume, getting the concept behind my traditional performance and my creative wear and all those kind of things.

It was planned within two to three days, so it was a die-minute stuff. And the reason is due to low finances, I was not able to do the things I wanted to do.

My concept for my talent to just dance was very, very lovely, I loved it, the crowd loved it. I mean, I've been getting compliments, even after that after I won the sash, different people around the faculty and other places have always been reaching out to me, telling me about my dance steps, my concepts, that everything was very nice. So, I feel like my cultural appearance, the concept was nice, but my costume did not depict what I wanted because of the little time I had in getting a costume. And I was also looking at my pocket, I didn't want to spend so much. Also for my creative wear, I just had to improvise because what I really wanted initially was not what I showed on stage. I had to do something very I would call it mediocre, and that was just it. My dinner appearance was exceptional, every other thing, very lovely."

PSYCHLENS: Alright!

You participated in a bootcamp right?

Can you give us a sneak peak into how the bootcamp experience was?

MR UI EXQUISITE: "Whatever happened in boot camp was a very wonderful experience. It was just a series of games and rehearsals, nothing much. I mean, there was time for breakfast, time for lunch, time for dinner, time to rest. We were going there for extra rehearsals, going there to finalize everything pertaining to our group performances and how the D-day was going to go. This year's committee was a very nice one. Our apartment for boot camp was a very nice one. The contestants were very wonderful people, and everything was interesting, so it was very, very lovely from my side. I really enjoyed it, I enjoyed the journey, and I'm glad that all my effort didn't go to waste, as I said earlier."

PSYCHLENS: Beautiful, we're nearing the end of the interview, Oluwadamilola,

Who was the first person you called or thanked once you brought the title home, and why?

MR UI EXQUISITE: "Okay. Okay. I mean, I had lots of support from my friends because some of my friends were there on the D-day to watch me. They all watched while I was crowned the first runner-up, I mean, given the sash, the label, given the title and everything.

They all rushed out to me, hugged me on stage, starting from Olumi, I mean, he was the project manager for the week, the 62nd FATSSSA President. He is a very lovely person, he's a very nice person, he helped me a lot alongside his friend. But besides the people that were there, the very first person that was on my mind was I wanted to call my Mum, because she's a very lovely woman, she has done a lot for me, my Grandma. They've been very, very, very, very supportive, my brother, I really, really love them so very much. So, my family was the first in my head besides the people that were present on that day, that I wanted to reach out to. I cried. Oh, it was a very wonderful experience for me because, I mean, I wanted to be crowned Mr. Unibadan the first, but then, having to come a very long way and I'm so very close to being the first to being the winner, it's a great privilege. It isn't what I aimed for, but I got a very good position, so it touched me and I cried. My effort didn't go to waste."

PSYCHLENS: Now that the chase is over and you have the title, what reality check or humbling thought is on your mind?

MR UI EXQUISITE: "There's nothing different, nothing will change about me. I just have to be me, the way I've been. The only difference is just that I have to carry myself, I have to know my worth, I have to portray the royalty identity, that title that I currently hold. So, it doesn't change my character, it doesn't change who I am. I mean, I'm open to meeting new people, I'm open to knowing more people and that is what being in this position holds. Humility, respect, being social. I believe I portray those attributes, so it just means I have to do it on a larger scale. Nothing more, nothing less. Thank you."

PSYCHLENS: You're welcome.

Alright! The final question for tonight, Oluwadamilola.

If you could give advice to someone starting this exact same journey for the Mr. UI crown, tomorrow, what is the one thing you would tell them?

MR UI EXQUISITE: Always be positive, be you, be good, never give up, and pray.