A University of Birmingham student killed himself just one day after finding out he had failed his exams.
Phil Moyo, a third-year medical student from Leicester, received the news he had failed his resit and needed to withdraw from his course.
“He was an incredible young man with boundless potential, a bright future, and a heart full of love and responsibility. He made us so proud, and I don’t know how I will ever recover from losing him.”
via Unsplash
Speaking on the positivity of Phil’s character, Kiah admitted: “None of us had a clue was struggling.
“Retrospectively, you think of conversations and wonder, ‘was he trying to say something?’.
“As friends, we used to check in with each other when we were stressed or worried about exams. We used to have a saying like ‘we won’t come and die for this degree.’ “We didn’t mean it literally, we meant we won’t let it ruin our lives, or let it kill us through burn-out. When things were difficult, we’d say ‘come on let’s get some food or go see a concert, we’ve not come to die for this’.”
Phil’s family, friends, church “family” and colleagues have been left devastated by his death, with dozens leaving condolence messages as part of an online memory book.
A colleague who had only briefly met Phil commented on his positive nature, saying: “I was blessed to have met Phil at work. I’m sad that I only ever had one shift with him but he was such a character.
“[He] lit up a room, brought so much positivity into the building and was a joy to be around. His sense of humour and just smile brought happiness to so many people.”
Phil was in his final year as a medical student, studying in the hopes of becoming a cardiovascular surgeon and had been resitting an exam which he had failed by just “one or two per cent”.
“He saw everyone else enjoying their time and he’s having to be in Birmingham, missing his family, away from home because he was revising every day. Resists aren’t nice,” Kiah explained.
via LinkedIn
On the Wednesday, 16th of July, students were given the results of the resit via email.
“He failed it by less than five per cent again,” Kiah recalled. “He got the email that comes through – it’s a bright yellow box with red writing that said he’s failed and ‘will be required to exit the course” because “if you fail a resit in medicine, you need to leave the course.
“I think he should have talked to someone, given himself another chance. He was always there for everyone else, he always had time for them.”
A Birmingham University spokesperson said: “Staff and students at the University of Birmingham were deeply saddened to learn of Phil’s death. The loss of Phil from our community remains deeply felt, and our thoughts and sympathies are with his family and friends.”
If you have been affected by the content of this article, Birmingham students can call the university’s 24-hour mental health support line at 0800 917 9379.
You also can contact the Samaritans at any time by calling 116 123. Alternatively, you can contact Shout, a 24/7 text messaging service, by texting the word “Shout” to 85258.
