Nkeiruka Ogbonna
Nkeiruka Ogbonna ’15 is a new nurse on the medical progressive unit at St. Cloud Hospital.
The December graduate was inspired to pursue nursing by her mother-in-law, who delivered Ogbonna’s children in a small hospital in Nigeria.
“She is a really great woman — very caring,” Ogbonna said.
She wasn’t able to pursue nursing while living in Nigeria, but decided to give it a try when she arrived in the United States six years ago with her husband, Uchenna, and their three children.
Healthcare was also Uchenna’s goal, and the couple wasted no time in pursuing an education. Both Nkeiruka and Uchenna began nursing classes at St. Cloud Technical and Community College. They pursued their degrees while helping their children adapt to a new home, acclimating to a new culture themselves and welcoming a new daughter in 2012.
Uchenna earned his licensed practical nurse (LPN) from St. Cloud Technical and Community College and is going back to earn his associate degree as a registered nurse. Nkeiruka transferred to St. Cloud State where she earned her bachelor’s degree with a gerontology minor.
Her goal is to work with older adults because she learned to respect the elderly while growing up in Nigeria, where the culture honors older people.
Nkeiruka did her internship with Pathstone Living in Mankato to learn more about older people in the United States. The experience has helped prepare her to work with aging individuals at the hospital.
“Taking care of older people reminds me of my dad, who is now a centenarian,” she said. “Connecting with those people helps me connect back home.”
Through it all she was supported by faculty and staff from the nursing and gerontology departments, who offered advice, support and friendship.
