INNOVATIVE.
PASSIONATE.
CHALLENGE-DRIVEN.
Aghogho does not conform to the mould of the average medical student.
Rejected from medical school five times over six years, she embodies the very resilience her name represents to many. Coming from an immigrant home with no medical background, in a country where she was a minority, she lacked the representation she needed growing up.
So she decided to become that for someone else.
INNOVATIVE.
PASSIONATE.
CHALLENGE-DRIVEN.
Aghogho does not conform to the mould of the average medical student.
Rejected from medical school five times over six years, she embodies the very resilience her name represents to many. Coming from an immigrant home with no medical background, in a country where she was a minority, she lacked the representation she needed growing up.
So she decided to become that for someone else.
Failure does not define us.
Failure does not define us.
Since being admitted
to medical school, Aghogho has accumulated an impressive share of accolades - truly proving that failure is not final.
Through her online presence, she has built an audience of over 340,000 people all over the world, and has reached a jaw-dropping 100 million lives.
Spotlighted by TikTok as one of Ireland’s top black creators, she has partnered with names one could only dream of – Apple, YouTube, Philips… the list goes on. Her success is not limited to social media but extends into her developing medical career. (Talk about the best of both worlds).
In 2023, she carried the enviable title of Gold Medal Winner for Research Excellence at UCD School of Medicine, one of Ireland’s top institutions. Ms. Okpara became the first black person to ever win this award, trailblazing the way for other children of immigrants in the future.
And she is still not done.
Since being admitted
to medical school, Aghogho has accumulated an impressive share of accolades - truly proving that failure is not final.
Through her online presence, she has built an audience of over 340,000 people all over the world, and has reached a jaw-dropping 100 million lives.
Spotlighted by TikTok as one of Ireland’s top black creators, she has partnered with names one could only dream of – Apple, YouTube, Philips… the list goes on. Her success is not limited to social media but extends into her developing medical career. (Talk about the best of both worlds).
In 2023, she carried the enviable title of Gold Medal Winner for Research Excellence at UCD School of Medicine, one of Ireland’s top institutions. Ms. Okpara became the first black person to ever win this award, trailblazing the way for other children of immigrants in the future.
And she is still not done.
“If you don’t see that person,
become them.”
- Aghogho Okpara
Aghogho’s passion for educational equity has been the driving force behind everything she does. Her mission is to empower students from underserved communities to achieve all that is within their potential.
Honoured as a “Face of the Future” by the Irish Times and a “Trailblazer” in Black Irish history by RTÉ, you can be certain that Aghogho is someone to watch.
In January 2025, she launched Achieve with Aghogho (AWA), a non-profit initiative set up to actively teach students how to excel and walk in self-belief.
“If you don’t see that person,
become them.”
- Aghogho Okpara
Aghogho’s passion for educational equity has been the driving force behind everything she does. Her mission is to empower students from underserved communities to achieve all that is within their potential.
Honoured as a “Face of the Future” by the Irish Times and a “Trailblazer” in Black Irish history by RTÉ, you can be certain that Aghogho is someone to watch.
In January 2025, she launched Achieve with Aghogho (AWA), a non-profit initiative set up to actively teach students how to excel and walk in self-belief.
Aghogho's Journey
Fails miserably. So she sits her second admission exam (BMAT), and fails yet again.
This is Aghogho’s last chance to get direct entry to study undergraduate medicine. She experiences yet another crushing disappointment, and later begins her BSc in Biomedical, Health and Life Sciences at University College Dublin (UCD).
Accomplishes several ‘firsts’ for the society during her term. Through this position, Aghogho realises she has a knack for business and leadership.
Loses her father to illness. Determines within herself to not give up for his sake.
Having overcome her fear of failure, to her surprise, Aghogho gets in. She begins to document her journey online.
Out of 133 medical students, Aghogho wins this honourable award. In this year, she launches her first business, is nationally recognised by TikTok for Black History Month, and starts working with global brands such as Apple.
Aghogho launches a non-profit initiative to empower young people to achieve their full potential and gain the necessary self-belief to do so.
Fails miserably. So she sits her second admission exam (BMAT), and fails yet again.
This is Aghogho’s last chance to get direct entry to study undergraduate medicine. She experiences yet another crushing disappointment, and later begins her BSc in Biomedical, Health and Life Sciences at University College Dublin (UCD).
Accomplishes several ‘firsts’ for the society during her term. Through this position, Aghogho realises she has a knack for business and leadership.
Loses her father to illness. Determines within herself to not give up for his sake.
Having overcome her fear of failure, to her surprise, Aghogho gets in. She begins to document her journey online.
Out of 133 medical students, Aghogho wins this honourable award. In this year, she launches her first business, is nationally recognised by TikTok for Black History Month, and starts working with global brands such as Apple.
Aghogho launches a non-profit initiative to empower young people to achieve their full potential and gain the necessary self-belief to do so.