Beacon of hope: Kent State Ashtabula international student shares her story
May 3—ASHTABULA — Stella Nyaboke Ogari, an international student at Kent State Ashtabula, was born and raised in a small city called Kisii in the Nyanza Province, located in the Western Kenya region of East Africa.
Ogari, a licensed practical nurse (LPN), is a returning Kent State Ashtabula student with experience in med-surge, hospice, assisted living and long-term care.
She completed a med-surge rotation and pediatrics rotation both at the Cleveland Clinic main campus, a psychiatry rotation at Trumbull Regional Medical Center and obstetrics rotation at Metro Health Main Campus.
Ogari said she chose Kent State Ashtabula, because it has a rigorous program that sets one up for success both in academic and in practice.
"The supportive staff, well-equipped labs, and clinical rotation sites optimize exposure to the real nursing world," Ogari said. "It incorporates Kaplan in the syllabus and provides resources, which set students up for success in internal exams and nursing board exam."
She said that Associate College of Nursing Professor Tamra Courey has stood out to her during her time in the nursing program.
"Dr. Tamra Courey has such an obvious, infectious, and persuasive passion in mental health nursing," Ogari said. "She poses a unique way of imparting knowledge and challenges you to think critically and commit the content to memory. She is one faculty who gets to instruct us in the lecture portion and bring us to clinical rotation, so we get to experience her in both aspects in unique ways."
Ogari said that her country falls short in healthcare compared to the U.S.
"Emergency response, healthcare providers, and resources ... here it's fast, sufficient healthcare providers and usually reliable," Ogari said. "In my country, we have fewer first responders, doctors and ambulances per capita. Poor infrastructure, non-functioning systems, topped with limited resources hinder most people from accessing timely care."
Ogari enjoys nursing, because she can meet people at their lowest and be part of their reason to smile. She feels like she can be a beacon of hope for patients.
"It has its lows, but the rewarding moments outweigh the lows," Ogari said. "I draw a lot of who I am from my practice as Christian [Seventh Day Adventist]and admire the ministry of Jesus of serving with compassion. I wish to impact people's lives positively in my community here, my family, village and country back home."
After graduation, Ogari is planning to work in a Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU).
She said that she plans on becoming a dialysis nurse or diabetic educator.
Orgari said that her husband and children have been in Ohio for six years now.
She enjoys the country-like and laid-back feeling of Ashtabula.
"I prefer life in the countryside," Ogari said. "Less hustle and bustle that characterizes the busy, big cities like Cleveland. It appears serene and being by Lake Erie adds to that. I connect with nature and find it therapeutic. I like to walk in the woods and be by the quiet, still waters too."
