I didn’t take the traditional path toward a career in medicine; I’m a Physician, but I’ve always been the creative type with interests in writing, music, and social media content creation in addition to science and medicine. My journey has been as defined by the challenges of synthesizing my interests as it has been by overcoming the hurdles of pursuing a career in medicine.
I was first inspired toward an interest in medicine as a youngster by my mother who would tell my siblings and I stories about her father, who served as a field medic during the Biafran civil war in Nigeria. Her stories about how he had braved the battle field not to take lives, but to save them were awe inspiring. I saw medicine as a career that could allow for a deep and meaningful connection to the best spirit of humanity.
My parents immigrated to the US in the 1980's from Nigeria. My father, a Yoruba man, and my mother, an Igbo woman, both came to the U.S. seeking to further their educations. In each other though, they found that the differences that might have divided their people back home did not compare to the common bonds they shared. Growing up, they taught us the value of education, and of course held us to the "success is the only option" standard Nigerian work ethic. From them I learned to understand and appreciate my heritage and developed an abiding interest in the African Diaspora. I’ve always expressed my interests through writing, and after graduating from college I built African Dynamo, a blogging platform for writers, artists, photographers, and other creative people from all over Africa and its diaspora. In working with content creators, brands and other companies, we help to promote a positive message about Africa and its diaspora.