Lucy Ogbu-Nwobodo

About Lucy Ogbu-Nwobodo

Born in Nigeria, Lucy was brought by relatives to Oakland, California when she was eleven. The United States promised to provide a better life, but as an undocumented student for over twelve years Lucy had to fight for her own survival. She developed a strong sense of resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Lucy focused on her academics and graduatedfrom high school at fifteen as the class valedictorian. She obtained her undergraduate degree from California State University, East Bay before the age of twenty. After college, she started volunteering at Highland Hospital-a safety-net hospital primarily serving Oakland's uninsured patients.

Lucy went on tostart the Operating Room Experiences (OREX), a pre-medical surgical observation program. As one of few programs in the nation allowing extensive access to undergraduates, OREX has matriculated over thirty students into medical and other graduate health education programs, and serves as a model for other teaching hospitals.

As a medical student at UC Davis School of Medicine, Lucy serves as co-director of the Imani Clinic, a student-run clinic that provides services to the medically disenfranchised in Sacramento. She is the co-president of the Student National Medical Association, as well as the president and founder of the UC Davis Neurosurgery Student Interest Group.

Lucy is dedicated to improving health care through social justice. She plans to specialize in neurosurgery. After medical school, her goal is to bring specialty medical services to low-income communities.