When Chiamaka Madu was a small child, she set her sights on becoming a physician. As she grew up, she developed other wide-ranging interests, from teaching and mentorship to linguistics and travel.
Madu, Executive Vice President of the Student Body and a second-year student at American University of Antigua (AUA) College of Medicine, found a way to combine her passions through the Global M.D. Program. The four-year longitudinal track aims to develop expertise in global health issues and prepares students for careers in patient care, service, policy making, research, and education on an international scale.
“The Global M.D. Program really integrates all of my passions and everything I want to do,” said Madu. “The international focus of the program is fantastic, and so are the curriculum and the faculty. You have space to do any and all things at AUA. I’m so grateful to be here.”
A New York City native with family in Nigeria, Madu said coming from one of the most ethnically diverse places in the world, she appreciated AUA’s commitment to inclusion and diversity. She speaks English, Ibo, Spanish, and French proficiently (plus a smattering of a few other languages like Korean and Portuguese).
When Madu was still in high school, she discovered a love of teaching as a camp counselor and mentor for K-8 youth in Queens. She is interested in pursuing a path in academia as well as a career as a physician, and she’s active in student and community service organizations.
Christ the King High School, a girls’ school in Antigua, recently invited Madu to give a presentation to the students about her decision to pursue a career in medicine and her experiences as a student at AUA.
“It was a great opportunity to talk to these girls and empower them in their passions,” she said. “I shared my own journey and talked about how the medical school admissions process works, what scholarships are available, and what options they have. They were super engaged and had lots of questions. I wanted them to take away the message that you can do anything you want to – even become a doctor.”
Madu is just as optimistic about her own future goals. She is interested in global health, pediatrics, genetics, and surgery, and she is looking forward to completing her academic courses and exploring different specialties in her clinical rotations.
“At AUA, you really get out what you put in,” said Madu. “I can’t think of a place I’d rather study.”
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