PHOTO SPEAKS: Mrs. Oluremi Willoughby At 70, The Septuagenarian Blissful Anniversary

The 70th birthday celebration of Mrs. Remi Willoughby in Houston was a striking event. Although it was modest in nature, the purpose was clear: to celebrate a remarkable milestone. Set against the luxurious backdrop of River Oaks—one of Houston’s most exclusive neighborhoods—it embodied every aspect of a grand celebration with elegance and style.

This event was not merely a celebration of a milestone; it was a thoughtfully crafted reflection of a life driven by purpose and direction. With the correct narrative, it has the potential to resonate deeply, possibly even earning an Oscar nomination if adapted into a film.

Celebrating 70 years of life and overcoming the challenges and difficulties that come with it—including the many highs and lows—is a moment to acknowledge and a significant milestone that deserves to be celebrated with great pomp and grandeur.

Mrs. Remi Willoughby is an exceptional educator with over forty years of teaching experience. She is a graduate of Texas A& M, U.S.A where she received her master’s degree (M.Ed.) During her career she taught at Loyola College, Ibadan, Itolo Girls’ Grammar School, Lagos, and finally at the Grange School, from where she relocated to the U.S.A with her family.

Mrs. Willoughby received all her training in educational robotics from the National Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

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She taught an Introduction to Engineering class in the last thirteen years at Rice School, Houston, Texas, using robotics as a platform for teaching the class.

She has taken students to various competitions where her students have excelled and won several awards. An astute robotics instructor, after twenty-three years in one of Texas’ largest school district, Mrs. Willoughby retired in June 2015, shortly after which she returned to Nigeria to share her expertise in the field of educational robotics.

Mrs. Willoughby is passionate about the opportunities that robotics education can provide for students including critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork, and she has dedicated her time to providing opportunities for schools to include robotics in their curriculum.

She has taken students from Nigeria to international robotics competitions since 2017, and each year the students won an award.

Some of the alumni who have benefitted from the opportunities provided by the robotics competition are in top universities across the world, some have graduated working in eye-brow corporations; and one of our alumni is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in biomedical engineering from John Hopkins University, USA.