Now this is a reason to celebrate!
A mother and daughter are making history, becoming the first to graduate from medical school at the same time and match at the same hospital, UMHS reports.
Dr. Cynthia Kudji and her daughter, Dr. Jasmine Kudji attended medical school at the same time, miles apart from one another. Cynthia attended the University of Medicine and Health Sciences (UMHS) St. Kitts and Maine and Jasmine attended Louisiana State University School of Medicine. After years apart, both mother and daughter have matched at LSU, the first to do so, with Cynthia pursuing Family Medicine and Jasmine studying General Surgery.
The Ghana native said she always wanted to be a doctor, but after becoming pregnant with her daughter Jasmine at 23-years old, she put her dreams on hold. She worked as an RN and Nurse Practitioner for almost 10 years before deciding to apply to medical school at UMHS. A trip back home inspired her to pursue her dreams again after all those years.
“My mom wanted us to have a family trip back to Ghana and there was an incident where we were in the village and somebody just walked up to us and said that their child had a fever and was sick and wanted my mom and I to help. We put the child in water, trying to get the temperature down…and I just remember being so frustrated that the mom had to come to a complete stranger to get access to health care. The only thing I knew that could change that situation was to be a physician,” Cynthia said.
Her daughter Jasmine, simultaneously began med school at LSU. The two said the road hasn’t been easy but they are glad to have finally completed a major part of their journey.
“So, the only thing that makes it difficult as far as older students is… if you haven’t been in school for a while, it takes some getting used to the volume of material. [Also,] you still have the responsibilities of an older individual, of a mom or a dad… So even though I was in medical school, I was still Jasmine’s mom. I still had to be there as mom regardless of whether I was in medical school or not,” Cynthia shared.
Thanks to technology, the two were able to remain close and connected.
“I think initially it was difficult because my mom and I have always been really close so I had to get used to the distance, we had to learn how to FaceTime and Skype each other, so we were Skyping each other every day and whenever I had struggles and she had struggles, we just had to learn to communicate from a distance,” said Jasmine.
Both mom and daughter are excited to finally be back together and look forward to continue leaning on each other as they enter this next phase of their careers.
“I always tell people we laugh together, we study together, we cry together. I think medical school is one of those experiences that you don’t truly understand until you’re in it. Sometimes people struggle to find someone who relates to their struggles, so for that person to be my mom was extremely helpful,” said Jasmine Kudji.
This is mom-daughter goals! Congratulations ladies!
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Cynthia Kudji