DETROIT – Henry Ford Health Systems’ Vice Chair of Surgery and System Director of Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Ikenna Okereke, immigrated to Detroit from Nigeria in middle school. He moved away but always remembered Detroit as the place that gave his family a chance. Now that Okereke has returned, he wants to provide Detroit area youth with an opportunity too.
He didn’t always see himself where he is today.
“There were times that I felt that there were things that didn’t belong to me; a doctor, a lawyer, a businessperson, or the CEO, that belonged to other people,” said Okereke.
Then he got life-changing advice.
“My dad told me every day, ‘Don’t sell yourself short, don’t sell yourself short,’ and I want to be that voice to some of the young kids today,” Okereke said.
When he was working in Texas, he developed a summer mentoring program.
“If you can see it, you can be it,” Okereke said; it’s a saying one of his residents shared with him.
Now, with the help of Henry Ford Innovations, Okereke is bringing it to Detroit.
To get the word out, Okereke has spoken at high schools and invited students to the hospital to show them what they can expect.
“The thing I see the most because I’m trying to evaluate them, try to motivate them, is how energetic they are afterward and how much they can say I can do this,” Okereke said.
Jazlyn Cain, a junior at Cass Technical High School, was one of those students that got a tour of the hospital and got to do some of the simulations. She wants to become an anesthesiologist, and that short experience ignited her vision.
“After leaving there, it makes you really want to work in a hospital,” said Cain. “I feel like I would learn something new every day. I feel like a lot of times when we see people in those positions, they’re not necessarily coming from where you’re coming from or where you started from, and I feel like because he (Okereke) actually went to middle school here and actually was in my shoes, it’s definitely encouraging.”
For more information on the program and how to apply, click here. The deadline for applications is March 25.
Each of the 10 students accepted will be awarded a $1,000 stipend.