Mother of Three Becomes a Doctor at 37 After Returning to JAMB Nearly 20 Years Later

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At an age when most people are already deep into their careers, Dr. Damilola Odukoya chose to start over. At 37, almost two decades after her first attempt, she returned to sit for the JAMB examination and set herself on the path to becoming a medical doctor.

She was already a wife, a mother of three, and a full-time laboratory technician when she made the decision to pursue Medicine at the University of Lagos. What followed was years of sacrifice, discipline, and determination that few would dare attempt.

Going through medical school while raising young children, including an infant, she was often the oldest student in her class. Her younger classmates affectionately called her “Mummy,” a title she wore with quiet pride rather than embarrassment.

Before choosing Medicine, she had built a stable career as a hospital laboratory technician. Walking away from that to start a long and demanding academic programme required a level of courage that many admired but few understood.

Her journey was not without personal trials. She experienced a five-year wait after marriage before having her first child, and later went through the emotional and physical demands of raising a young family while sitting for examinations and attending lectures.

To fully commit to her studies, she had to take a leave of absence from her job, adding financial pressure to an already demanding season of life.

None of it stopped her.

In 2022, Dr. Odukoya graduated from the University of Lagos College of Medicine, officially fulfilling a dream she had carried for nearly twenty years.

Her husband, Abiodun Odukoya, stood by her throughout the journey. His support, she has acknowledged, was one of the quiet forces that kept her going when the road became difficult.

Her story is not just about becoming a doctor. It is about refusing to let age, circumstance, or convention decide what is possible. For every Nigerian who has ever felt that their window of opportunity has closed, Dr. Damilola Odukoya’s life says otherwise.