Touayba Bakkali, Moroccan-Spanish from Toledo, has just achieved what many students in Spain dream of. Aged 18, she has just obtained a score of 13.84 out of 10 for the Baccalaureate Evaluation for University Access (EBAU), i.e. the Spanish baccalaureate. “Her family has sacrificed a lot to be able to provide her with an education and she can only be proud. The story of this student, who wants to study medicine at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, is a real demonstration of effort and dedication,” reports Telecinco.
Seventh in a family of eight, Touayba Bakkali’s path to overcoming EBAU was not easy. “I am very happy. It’s quite an achievement for me and a dream come true, “says the Moroccan-Spanish. She says that her parents left Tangier 35 years ago and arrived in Spain without knowing how to read or write. At that time, they had only one son and the beginnings were hard. They started making a living by buying and selling second-hand items and dreamed of a better future. “They had to sacrifice themselves” for their children.
“I always tried hard and tried to do my best. My parents told me that they are very proud. I owe them everything. They trusted me and knew I could do it. It was very special for everyone to receive the final grade,” added Touayba. The young woman from Toledo claims to have taken advantage of the opportunity that they did not have. “They would have loved it, but it was not possible,” she says of her parents’ trajectory.
The same source specifies that out of Touayba’s six older brothers, five have obtained a university degree. One reason why “everyone encouraged her in this final stretch towards university”. “They told me to trust myself and not be nervous. Everyone has always supported me.”
Touayba’s EBAU marks are spectacular: 9.75 in Spanish, English and Maths II and 9.5 in Spanish History. In Biology and Chemistry, she obtained a 10 out of 10. “I started to prepare myself from the start of the course. I am very diligent and I use the last three weeks to revise”, explains the 18-year-old, who admits that she was stressed when it came time to take the exams, a stress that dissipated by passing the first exam.
