An inspiring mother and daughter duo are making headlines for going through medical school together. Dr. Cynthia Kudji Sylvester is the mother of Dr. Jasmine Kudji. The pair supported one another throughout their education journey and both have committed to the LSU health system in Louisiana, according to Today.
It took time for Dr. Sylvester to have the opportunity to pursue this dream, yet she knew for many years that it was the path she wished to follow. She is originally from Ghana and moved to the United States with her family when she was only 2 years old. They later settled in Louisiana. When she was older, her family traveled back to Ghana for a visit and she was approached by a young woman asking her to help her sick child. That was the moment she knew she wanted to pursue a career in the medical field.
“Seeing that disparity really, it shook me, you know, and it made me want to do something about it,” Dr. Sylvester said.
However, at 22 years old, she became pregnant with her daughter and found herself in need of an income. She started her career as a nursing assistant and worked her way up to a nurse practitioner. Her dream was still to become a doctor.
“When Jasmine was in college, I was like, you know what, this is the perfect time for me to pursue my dream of being a physician,” she said.
She was 43 when she enrolled at the University of Medicine and Health Sciences on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. Meanwhile, Dr. Kudji had been inspired to pursue the same dream as her mother from watching her treat patients as a nurse. She would begin medical school herself in 2015 after getting her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University.
As the pair studied hard and went through the challenges of medical school together, they grew very close.
“You learn to really trust one another and the lines of motherhood really get blurred. She becomes my best friend, you know, she becomes my confidante, during the whole process,” Dr. Sylvester said of her daughter.
The pair will begin their residencies on July 1.
The two doctors, as African American women, believe that representation is very important, and they hope to show others that no matter what their background or race is, everyone can achieve their dreams.
The topics of race, diversity, and representation have been highly discussed in recent weeks. As The Inquisitr previously reported, former reality television star Rachel Lindsay recently slammed The Bachelor franchise for their lack of diversity.