Excelling in Foreign Land [column]

For every Nigerian abroad soiling the image of the country, there are countless other Nigerians bringing glory to their fatherland.

That has been the slogan of the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, at all events involving Nigerians in Diaspora. That slogan found credence in the United States recently when a young Nigerian lady, Kofo Onaleye, bagged the Irwin Gelernt MD Award during the graduation achievement ceremony of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York.

Irwin Gelernt MD Award is an annual award given by the medical school to a student in the graduating class who is both a member of an under-represented group and who has demonstrated dedication to leadership, advocacy, and service within his/her community. Recipients are given a plaque and monetary prize during the award ceremony.

Born on March 7, 1985 in Lagos into the family of Mr. Adetokunbo Onaleye, GM/Company Secretary of Chellarams, Kofo is the second child in a family of three children. She attended Vivian Fowler Memorial College before moving to Michigan State University for her under-graduate programme and Mount Sinai School of Medicine for her medical school.

This top ranking medical school, established in 1968, is one of few medical schools embedded in a hospital in the United States. With more than 3,400 faculty members in 32 departments and 15 institutes, the medical school, reputed for its leading role in genetics research, is part of the Mount Sinai Medical Center, which also encompasses Mount Sinai Hospital, a 1,171-bed tertiary and quaternary-care teaching facility and one of US oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary hospitals founded in 1852.

At the graduation award ceremony held at the Stern Auditorium on Wednesday, May 12, it wasn't only Kofo's day, it was also her father's day of glory as he was also recognised. Her father could not hide his joy. He said he felt highly elated. The award, according to him, is not just for her and the family, but also for the nation. The proud father said that would not be the first time Kofo would be receiving award or prizes as such days of glory date back to her days at St. Louis Primary School in Kano.

For Kofo, she feels incredibly honoured to receive the award, especially since it has always been her passion to reach underserved communities and make a difference in any way she could.

She said "this has served as an added form of encouragement for me to continue on the path that I have taken".

She said attending medical school has been the culmination of a life-long dream and she feels "incredibly blessed" for the opportunity to make her dream come true.â-‚ Her choice of medicine wasn't by accident as that had been her childhood dream. She said "as a young girl I understood what a big role healthcare, or lack of healthcare, play in people's lives and in our community in general."

At the School's 41st commencement ceremony held at the Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center on the second day, honourary Doctor of Humane Letter degrees were given to some personalities for providing access to quality care. They are former President Bill Clinton for his support for a range of humanitarian causes through the William J. Clinton Foundation; Jim Yong Kim , a Professor of Medicine and chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, for leading the "3x5 Initiative," which sought to treat three million new HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries with antiretroviral drugs by 2005 but reached that goal in 2007; Merryl H. Tisch, who was elected Chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents last spring, for devoting much of her time to advancing education; and James S. Tisch, President and CEO of Loews Corp ., a holding company that is one of the largest diversified financial corporations in the United States. In 2008, the Tisch Cancer Institute was established at Mount Sinai with a gift of $40 million from Merryl and James Tisch.

Also Doctor of Science honorary degrees were bestowed on two pioneers in the biomedical sciences namely Craig Venter , for mapping the first human genome in 2000; and â-‚ Shinya Yamanaka , a surgeon with an outstanding research career in the field of pluripotent stem cells.In all, a total of 198 degrees were awarded, including 116 MDs, 33 PhDs, 18 MPHs, and 31 MS degrees.

Having access to healthcare, according to Kofo, should be a basic right and she would want to contribute her efforts to make that a reality. The hardest part of her education had been so far away from her family, which she described as "the most supportive family anyone could pray for."â-‚For now, she would be heading to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA, for the completion of her pediatrics residency.