Meet Lois Essibu, 19-year-old UIC Nursing grad

When Lois Essibu graduated with her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the Springfield campus of the UIC College of Nursing last month, she was just 19.

She’s believed to be the youngest graduate of the college — at least since 1999 (as far back as digitized records go) — having turned 19 in March of her senior year.

“I was really determined in my coursework early, and through perseverance and through discipline, I was able to finish (high school) early,” Essibu said. “That’s when I started thinking of my next step, which was college.”

Once she completed high school, Essibu enrolled at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, on the recommendation of a family friend.

After one year, she relocated to Springfield to be closer to her older cousin, Regina Homawoo, a senior strategy and business development analyst at Memorial Health. Homawoo is also a UIC alum, with master’s degrees in business administration and public health.

Essibu completed her prerequisites at the University of Illinois Springfield and transferred to the UIC nursing program on the Springfield campus at just 17 years old.

Essibu chose nursing because of her experiences with compassionate nurses who helped ease her fears during a scary health episode as a kid.

“I think having a good nurse is really critical, especially in moments where patients are uncertain,” she said. “It is the type of profession where I feel like I can make an impact by being present for people during their most vulnerable moments.”

At the College of Nursing in Springfield, Essibu found the coursework challenging, but her professors were accessible when she needed help.

“Our instructors were really available for us, so if I didn’t understand something, I was able to reach them,” she said.

Assistant professor and registered nurse Lorna Scoggins was Essibu’s professor in health assessment and mental health nursing. Scoggins said Essibu never sought special treatment due to her young age, adding that she exhibited a “level of self-awareness and poise that is uncommon in students of any age.”

“She earned the respect of faculty and classmates through her diligence, discipline, thoughtful contributions and genuine compassion for patients in the clinical setting,” Scoggins said.

Essibu said she valued the opportunities for leadership and hands-on learning in the nursing program in Springfield.

“I was exposed to diverse populations through my clinical rotations, which helped me to grow personally and professionally,” she said.

Part of what motivated Essibu to complete high school and enter college on an accelerated timeline is a love of learning, she said. That continues. She passed the standard NCLEX exam in June, allowing her to become a licensed registered nurse. Now she plans to work part-time as a nurse while completing a full-time public health master’s degree program at Emory University.

Essibu’s educational journey is far from over.

“I love learning,” she said. “Continuing my education will give me a deeper understanding of how populations and communities function and how I can best serve them.”

— Deborah Ziff Soriano, UIC Nursing