Chinedu Odedo
Chinedu Odedo, a Beckman Scholar from Nigeria, has always had a passion for becoming a doctor. Not only is he on track to graduate with a biology degree and pursue med school, he’s helping his fellow pre-med students at Georgia State achieve their academic and professional goals.
Interview by Jordan Ferguson
Tell us about yourself, Chinedu?
I’m a biology major born and raised in Nigeria. I moved to the U.S. with my twin brother in November 2020 to start college. I’m strongly interested in science, specifically medicine.
Growing up, I had a hole in my heart. Usually, some holes close by themselves, but mine was more critical. I needed surgeries early on in my life and ultimately had mine when I was about 3 years old. When I was in middle school, it solidified my interest in medicine. Ever since I’ve been at GSU I've been pursuing anything that can help me reach my goal of becoming a doctor.
How did you become a Beckman Scholar?
When I took my first biology class in my first year, I really liked the professor, Dr. Matthew Brewer. He challenged me to think. I knew he partnered with the CURE Lab, so I expressed my desire to get involved and challenge myself. In the CURE Lab, we worked on manipulating bacteria genomes to express foreign proteins. That summer I applied for several scholarships, including the Beckman Scholarship. I put in my application, and I was selected as a scholar in May 2022. It's really helped me get more involved with research opportunities.
What organizations are you involved in?
I’m a part of the 1913 Society, and I love all the beautiful opportunities that the organization affords me. I also observe at Grady Memorial Hospital.
I’ve been able to go to a lot of national and regional conferences with the American Medical Student Association. I was also a Summer Health Scholar with a program called the Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPE). It’s backed by the American Association of Medical Colleges and I was a health professional scholar last summer. It’s been busy for me because I had to juggle being a Beckman Scholar and a health professional scholar.
My friends and I created an organization that gives back to pre-med students. Through the SHPE Program, I had a mentor who helped me as I went to shadow doctors. He told me some secrets, like how to reach out to doctors properly. Having that information, I am able to help my peers because we need clinical experience if we are going to go into any part of the health field. That organization is called Pre-Medical Mentorship and Clinical Program (PMCP).
Tell me more.
As the name implies, it’s a mentorship pipeline, as well as a clinical pipeline. We want to have people who have firsthand experience in medical school. We have a ton of medical students, and at least 70 percent of the mentors are GSU alumni.
A lot of the medical students talk to our pre-meds about their journeys, encourage them, discuss the setbacks, give advice on the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test), reach out to doctors, and about how to keep up with their professional connections. We’re pairing students with physicians, and we ultimately want students to get into either the primary care specialty or a specialty of their choice.
Soon you’ll be taking the MCAT and applying for medical school. How is Georgia State preparing you for that next chapter?
GSU is helping me a lot. I always give a shout-out to my organic chemistry professor Dr. Jeremiah Harden. He encourages me and lets me know I can do anything I set myself to do. I'm also in conversation with him regarding the MCAT and the application process. I also reached out to pre-med advisers to get their perspectives.
What do you envision for your future career? Which specific field within the medical industry are you considering?
I want to be a cardiologist, but I want to be in research as well. I'm really big on giving back to underserved communities. I was born and raised in Nigeria, and I've seen a lot. Last month, I was at the Risk and Resilience to Alzheimer’s Disease in African Americans Conference in New Jersey. I met the diversity director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Alzheimer's Association was there as well. I made connections with people who care about underserved communities as well as minority populations.
