USD-Magazine-Summer-2023

[security] Family loss inspired doctoral nursing student’s journey BEYOND JUST STAYING ALIVE

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by Elena Gomez

“I don’t want what happened to my parents to happen to someone else. At the end of the day, if I have the knowledge, maybe I’ll be able to save someone’s life,” she says. While at home in Nigeria, Okoh got her first introduction to patient care by helping her mother take care of her father after he had a stroke.

working as an emergency nurse and taking care of her three children during her husband’s deployments with the U.S. Navy. The drive that pushes her through these challenges is personal. It’s rooted in her desire to help others after dealing with her family’s unfortunate medical experiences.

nthonia “Tonia” Okoh finished her final semester as a full-time

Shortly after that, her mom was misdiagnosed and passed away just two days after undergoing surgery. These tragic memories have stayed with Okoh, and ultimately encouraged her to transition from a career in computer science to nursing. After moving to the U.S. to be closer to her husband — who is currently deployed on

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) student this spring at USD’s Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science. Taking a full-time doctoral course load would be enough for many students, but Okoh has been juggling the program while

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