“A family that graduates together stays together.” Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
If you ask a proud father or mother, they’ll tell you there’s nothing like seeing at least one of your children live out their dreams. The same goes for a proud brother or sister that you grew up with and know that they had to go through some things but come out on the other side better than ever.
Well, you would be incredibly proud of these three siblings who, against all odds, all became doctors.
Gloria, Victor and Blessing Oyeniyi have all earned the title of Doctor. Dr. Gloria is a mental health professional. Dr. Blessing just graduated and is in residency at one of the nation’s top hospitals. Last, but not least, Dr. Victor holds a doctorate in Pharmacy. As the children of Nigerian immigrants, the trio moved to Texas in 1995 and went on to develop a passion for the field of healthcare. Victor told Jonathan Martin of FOX 26 Houston “They [their parents] wanted and they aspired for us to be doctors, whether it was medical or professional. They just wanted us to have that title, and be the best at anything we chose to be.”
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However, their journey to becoming doctors was anything but easy. “We were on welfare for a while, coming back in the U.S and starting back up,” Gloria shared. “My mom was a janitor at her first job when she started back over, and they both went back and got their college degrees and their master’s degrees.”
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In an Instagram post, Victor thanked Martin for sharing he and his siblings’ story, plus shared more details, writing: “My father and mother left their professional careers of being a pilot of over 19 years and a bank manager, respectively, only to begin afresh in the U.S. re-enrolling in college as freshmen and working odd jobs ultimately getting their SECOND bachelors and master’s degrees all to sustain us all because they had higher aspirations for us.”
Imagine that, being a professional pilot and educated only to have to humble yourself and your wife in order to make a better career for you later in life. That not only takes vision, that takes incredible discipline and selflessness.
“Though things are now better in Nigeria, this is more a testament of their will and sacrifice than it is about our achievements here,” he says.
The loving siblings are becoming doctors at the right time. Despite efforts by medical schools to increase diversity among applicants, the numbers for…
… one demographic—black men—have remained stagnant for nearly 40 years. In 1978, 1,410 black men applied to U.S. medical schools. In 2014, that number was 1,337, according to a new Association of American Medical Colleges report.
African Americans account for 13% of the population and five percent of US physicians. And only 2 percent of practicing physicians in the United States are black women.
Now that they have received all this publicity, Victor shares encouragement for everyone.
“BEYOND Grateful for everyone that reached out and your support! Lets ALL keep grinding and proving naysayers wrong!”
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