Olamide Oshikoya

Olamide ‘Ola’ Oshikoya isn’t the first member of his family to attend FIU, nor is he the first to pursue medicine. His mom, a registered nurse, got her undergraduate degree at FIU, and his wife, Amelie, is a pediatrician.

Amelie was a big influence in Ola’s decision to change careers and go into medicine, although you could say he was already “in” medicine. He was certainly surrounded by medicines of all kinds. In 2008, he got his Ph.D. from the University of Florida College of Pharmacy and worked as a Walgreen’s pharmacist for three years. It was there that he discovered working with patients was the most rewarding aspect of his job. Ola decided he wanted to be a doctor.

In 2012, he was accepted into the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and awarded a Wertheim Family Foundation Scholarship. He has excelled academically and his performance on the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 was above the 97th percentile nationally. In 2015, he was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society, reflecting his exemplary humanistic patient care and his ability to serve as a role model, mentor and leader in medicine. Ola, whose family hails from Nigeria, will graduate in the top 15% of his class.

March 18, 2016 was an unforgettable day for Ola. On that day he matched into the Orthopedic Surgery residency program at the University of Kentucky, and became a first time father to son, Jayden.