Diane Ogedi Ugwu
BIO
Master’s in pharmacological biochemistry and a proud mom-of-one.
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Diane Ogedi Ugwu
“It doesn't matter if I crawl to achieve the goal, what's important is consistency.”
I was about 10 years old when I started visiting my Mom at work. She's a nurse and my inspiration. I watched as she attended to her patients and admired the confidence she had that the drugs would help her patients recover. So, the drugs did work... but I wondered how? At home, she made sure we never ran out of basic medications in the first aid box. Even when we travelled, it's almost the first thing she packed. I didn't understand why some small white and colour-coated pills and capsules could perform such wonder. They said I would know if I studied Pharmacy.
Many years later, I graduated from Biochemistry, not Pharmacy! One year after my graduation, I enrolled to study Pharmacological Biochemistry at Master level. I am glad I towed this path because it launched me into a journey of satisfying my childhood curiosity. In the first year of my Masters study, I got a job as an Academic Research Technologist in Biochemistry at the University of Technology, Owerri - a city 4 hours drive from my school.
I considered dropping out and starting all over at my new post, but my mom encouraged me to give it my best shot. For the most part of my mom's career in nursing and as a health tutor, she had my siblings and nurtured us all in between.
It was tough combining school and my new job. I wanted to impress my new boss at work, excel in my studies and also nurture my research project (which was my baby at the time). For me, school and work had one common denominator: science! The factor that satisfies my curiosity. I fought hard and graduated with distinction, published my first paper and maintained a modest reputation at work.
I got married the year I graduated. I started applying to schools abroad and for scholarships. My husband and I decided I would start my PhD abroad immediately. I wanted to experience a new academic environment, so studying at home again wasn't an option in my mind. However, doctoral study abroad costs a fortune for international students and we couldn't afford to fund my studies without a scholarship.
While we waited for good news, I got pregnant, the excitement switched to the baby (which was also a good news!). Pregnancy and arrival of our son slowed my career down. I had to stop applying for a while, everything else was put on hold and my input at work wasn't spared. I went through a phase of loss of self confidence. I decided to hold on to my "precious" Master's degree till whenever I'm done having babies (or till forever).
I remember visiting my project supervisor during a holiday and she asked; "So Diane, what have you been up to?". I looked at my baby suckling and looked blankly back at her. She nodded. We spent about an hour chatting and by the time I left her house, I was fully armed to continue fighting regardless.
She is a young mom of 5 and an Associate Professor. Being a mom didn't stop her, and shouldn't stop me either. I discovered I could strap my baby on my back and keep my eyes on my books while he snuggled to sleep. Honestly, I've unconsciously devised different coping strategies and the process has been rewarding.
Three years down the line, I'm still in the process of applying for scholarships/funding. It's really super tough these days, even with good grades, but I'm confident I'll get a ‘yes’ soon. There's been hitches here and there, but my performance at work and research output have been decent and we have another baby on the way!
It doesn't matter if I crawl to achieve the goal, what's important is consistency. I understand that I'm not in a competition with anyone. Your success is impeded only when you stop working towards your goal, because successful people don't give up on their dreams.
I am also aware that I'll encounter more challenges as a mom when I eventually start my PhD, but I'm prepared to go one-day-at-a-time, and excellence is still the goal. I have a passion for translational research and I'm excited to see important experimental outcomes, solve real life problems in the clinics. For the love of science, I will keep fighting!