1. Briefly describe yourself?
My name is Tubwita Grace Bagaya. I am the second born in a family of four kids. I am a very positive person with a mindset that you only get out of life what you are prepared to put in.
I have great interpersonal skills. I am loyal, and I would like to accompany this with an example. I am the first person my friends call whenever they want to talk about something because they find me reliable.
I am very visionary. I love trying out new things.
Most important of all, I am a very ambitious lady. I tend to be driven in my approach to life. My friends and siblings constantly look up to me for advice. I always try my best to be someone others would be confident to follow. I love inspiring others. I am honest and friendly too.
I have big ambitions for my future. I know that the only way I will achieve this is to work hard and persevere. I am prepared to listen and learn. Outside my studies, I keep myself fit and active. I love working out, reading novels, uplifting others, and dedicating some time to my own personal development.
Summing it all up, I strongly believe in tenacity. When I do something, I want to do it right so I can put in the time and effort. I am very supportive of others and enthusiastic. I would like to think I am good to be around.
2. As a law student, briefly take us through your schedule, i.e., Monday.
First of all, I would like to say law school is my job, and I treat it as such.
By 3 AM, my alarm goes off. I like to get up as soon as it goes off to avoid getting stuck in the snooze cycle. I enjoy getting up early; definitely, I’m a morning person. So by 3 AM, I wake up, rise and shine.
Next off, I check my e-mail for my daily bible verse and quote of the day. I then do a little bit of morning workout for about 45 minutes. I am so passionate about keeping fit. At 4 AM, I shower then finish up any readings I have due that day.
At 7 AM, I get ready for the day. I have breakfast then walk to campus. Before class, I head to the library to finish any readings and prepare for classes, plus reading some news.
8 AM, my first class of the day begins, so I sit in the first row so that I’m not distracted by those around me, and that forces me to be on time.
12:30 PM is when I usually have my last class of the day. After that, I feel a little cranky and tired.
By 1:00 PM is when I have my lunch break, and that’s where I catch up with friends. This is very crucial because it keeps me sane. It is an opportunity because I bounce thoughts and ideas around what class discussions we’ve had.
At 2:00 PM, I try to stay in the library as late as I can because I’m very productive there than anywhere else. How late I need to stay there depends on the week and how busy I am.
By 7:00 PM, I arrive at the hostel and probably have a late dinner, prepare for the next day and do anything around that needs to be done. Preparing anything I might need for the next day. By 8:00 PM, I catch some movies, most probably on Netflix, technically for an hour.
By 9:00 PM, I catch up on re-reading for the following classes to ensure that the cases and the notes are fresh in my mind.
11:30 PM is bedtime, and there are no compromises. If you do some math, I survive on 4.5 hours of sleep. So I keep on. Bedtime is non-negotiable because I always need to rest.
3. What is your opinion about people who think women are incapable of performing some societal roles?
Women are fighting a battle they don’t know they are fighting. I believe women’s advancement has crept at a snail’s pace because of the culture-bound assumptions about women that are unconscious.
The first assumption is that women are assumed incompetent until proven otherwise.
Consequently, cultural biases consistently overrate men and underrate women. This assumed incompetence puts women on the defensive. Their struggle to prove themselves keeps them on a never-ending treadmill.
On a keynote, it’s not just men that assume women are incompetent. Still, women also fall prey to assuming incompetence in women. A woman may feel competent, but she won’t assume the same over other women. That itself may, in part, explain traditionally why women haven’t been so great at helping each other up the ladder.
But boldly speaking, that’s changing with the plethora of initiatives and organizations dedicated to women supporting women. Many of them are coming up. I believe a revolution is underway. A level of collaboration among women is coming up as we have never seen before.
4. What gave you the motive to do law?
Truly speaking, I’m a person who doesn’t tolerate any injustice. That motivated me since the law is about rights, justice, understanding human behaviour and society. I basically chose law because it would help me improve my standard of thought, skills, knowledge and provide me with the courage to stand to fight for my rights and the rights of others.
What excites me most is that when I get qualified, I will have the ability to make such a change in people’s lives. Those who can’t help themselves, those who need a guiding hand through what is a potentially monumentally difficult time in their lives, I will be able to help.
5. What advice would you give to females out there who may be afraid to pursue and achieve their goals because of gender inferiority?
It’s taunting, but the good news is that the world is more aware of the need to fight gender inferiority. The benefits of gender equality are actually becoming evident.
The best advice I can give is to leave their comfort zone. You realize that girls are trained to play it safe, be pretty, smile, and get A’s, while boys are taught to be brave, play rough, and think high. I think we are raising a generation of girls to be perfect and then the boys to be brave.
One thing I am sure of is that success is found outside one’s comfort zone. This is often hindered by the fear of the unknown. The best way to overcome that fear is to acknowledge the mindset of equality as a reality.
Women must stand their ground and start behaving as if the gap has been closed. Being conscious of all those gender scammers can give women an advantage. Heightened awareness can pull us out of the
6. If you hadn’t pursued Law, what would be your other interests?
I would take on engineering. I love things concerning innovations and inventions.
7. How did the pandemic affect your studies, and how have you overcome the challenges.
You realize that we get much more than academics at school. It basically impacts many aspects of social, emotional and physical development. Following the Covid 19 predicaments that resulted in a national lockdown, I found it hard to concentrate academically because of the home environment, which is filled with many distractions. I am more productive at school than at home.
I tried to deal with all this by putting in more effort to make it work out and discussing it with friends. It did help a lot.
8. What are your favourite and worst course units?
My favourite course unit is administrative law. As I earlier pointed out, I’m a very positive person. With that said, allow me to say I don’t have any worst course units.
9. Do you think online lectures are efficient? If so, why? If not, what do you think can improve the experience.
Using Uganda as a case study, online lectures are not efficient. They are generally not efficient as in-person classes. However, they are certainly better than no classes. There are not efficient because there is less direct contact between the instructors and the classmates as face to face classes.
The system is also patchy, following the unstable network in some areas. There is actually no or less time commitment of the classmates. There is a huge dropout rate if you try to follow up. People don’t stay consistent until the end of the lecture.
Instead of living streaming the lectures, I think they should record the lectures and provide them to students. I believe it’s way much better.
10. How do you spend your free time?
I spend most of my free time reading novels; I love reading. I spend most of my free time watching movies. I love brushing off the stress and relaxing the mind from academic stress. I love listening to gospel music in particular because it uplifts my soul and helps me reflect on my life. I do a bit of journaling too. I love writing.
Summing up
What Grace shared portrays her as a lady of big ambitions, a positive person, hardworking and one guided by principles.
Grace is also an instrumental figure in mental health initiatives, offering support and reaching out to victims.
Looking forward to seeing counsel Grace get to greater heights!
I hope you had something to learn!
Follow Grace on Twitter and Instagram
#TheFocus