A Journey to a Brighter Future

     From West Africa’s Nigeria to the plains of Oklahoma, nursing student Jude Ulogo’s determination for higher education is nothing short of aw-inspiring. Ulogo’s journey to where he is now, studying nursing at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, was not an easy one. In fact, when Ulogo left Nigeria to come to the United States, he had no plans of becoming a nurse. But when he arrived in Houston, he soon learned that accounting, the job he had been doing back home, would be hard to continue as his English wasn’t the clearest and the countries’ accounting systems differed almost entirely. Wondering what he could do to at least get a job, Ugolo gave pharmacy school a try only to find that the school he was accepted into in New Orleans could not take students due to Hurricane Katrina happening that same year. This was but the tip of the ice burg for the disappointments and heartbreaks Ugolo would go through until finally landing in Ada. It has been his determination and unwavering love for his family that has kept him on this pursuit for a better future.        
     Speaking with no signs of frustration, Ugolo said simply “Pharmacy school obviously wasn’t for me after the hurricane, so I decide okay, let me go to nursing school.”
     For those who have grown up in the United States, nursing school is considered very difficult, with many students being encouraged to pursue it in college, both males and females alike, for the job opportunities it will lead to down the road. This, however, is not the case for males pursing this career in Africa.
     “In Africa, we have these kind of culture things,” said Ugolo. “They don’t want you to be a nurse as a male person. They feel like doing nursing is for females.”
     In fact, according to an article by University of Manchester Professor Shula Marks, many men in Africa are taken by surprise to learn that there have always been men in nursing.
     Despite this cultural bias, Ugolo left Houston and headed north to Oklahoma’s East Central University, but this next move towards education was once again inhibited when his father became sick with diabetes and Ugolo had to go back to Nigeria to take care of him.
     “After funeral, I moved to Nevada where my wife was to get a job, because the medications for my father had cost a lot of money,” said Ugolo. “I am the breadwinner of my family, I have to take care of my younger ones.”
     It was in Nevada where Ugolo once again attempted to earn his degree in nursing. However, luck did not seem to be on his side when the school he was attending lost accreditation a semester before he was due to graduate. With no setback being too big for Ugolo to overcome, he returned to East Central University and with the help of former advisors, was able to pick up where he had left off in Nevada. One of those advisors, Louann Evert, is amazed at how far Ugolo has come, and is willing to go, to become a nurse.
     “Right now, He is fasting for 100 days,” said Evert. “He doesn’t eat all day until 6pm. It is his promise to his higher power to help get spiritual strength to be able to make it through school.”
     Ugolo doesn’t take the fact that he is able to get an education to become a nurse in the United States lightly. He appreciates the that he will be able to get a degree that in his own country is hard for men to get, because ultimately, he just wants to be able to help others and his family.
     “So that is why we are here,” said Ugolo on behalf of himself and others in similar situations. “To get ourselves more educated, more education, and to be financially okay to take care of our families back home.”

 Jude Ugolo begins by introducing himself, then explains how he got to Ada, Oklahoma to study nursing from Nigeria. He explained why he wants to become a nurse, while footage of him in lab giving patients eyedrops and medication. VIDEO: Meghan Whiting, runtime :49