At 37, Damilola Odukoya, walked into a Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination centre, 20 years after her first attempt. This is to give life to her long-term unfulfilled dream.
In those intervening 20 years, life took its course. She married, waited five years to welcome her first child, and eventually became a mother of three.
Damilola Odukoya’s reawakens buried dream
Despite being married with kids, the mother of three still found another way to relive her passion for saving lives. She worked full-time as a laboratory technician in a hospital. 
Working in the hospital, seeing doctors at work, gradually rekindled her ambition to be one of them. With her youngest child barely a year old, Odukoya took a bold decision and restarted her medical journey.
While many would have buried such a longstanding ambition to be a medical doctor at that age, Odukoya faced her dream head-on.
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How Damilola Odukoya defied odds to qualify as doctor
Odukoya conquered numerous obstacles to realise her dream. The first being passing her JAMB examination, and gaining admission into the University of Lagos College of Medicine at age 37.
Most of her course mates were freshly out of secondary school, they see her as a mother figure and in turn called her “mummy.”
To concentrate on her medical degree pursuit, Odukoya took an extended leave of absence from her job. Driven by sheer determination, she balanced night feedings, relentless assignments, and grueling six-hour daily lectures.
Damilola Odukoya graduates at 45
In 2022, the woman who dared to start over qualified as a medical doctor. Eight years later, her sacrifice paid off.
Dr Damilola Odukoya strut across the graduation stage alongside her classmates to receive her MBBS degree, proving that delay is not denial for those who are determined.
Family support: Abiodun Odukoya to the rescue
While many are celebrating Dr Damilola Odukoya for her inspiring story, a friend of the family, Olaolu Olaosebikan, who shared her inspiring story on social media, gives the credit of her success to husband Abiodun Odukoya’s unwavering support.
Olaosebikan explained that while Damilola immersed herself in studying and demanding clinical rounds, her husband stepped up to keep the home running. He was her pillar of support
His patience, sacrifice, and continuous presence carried their family through the hardest years, turning her lifelong dream into reality.
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