A passion for helping that spans the globe: Lois Mensah ‘28
“I believe nurses play crucial roles in healthcare. Most of the time, they are the first point of touch with patients and the ones in most contact with them."
Lois Mensah ‘28 spent 37 tiring hours in the air on a journey to a new country, a new environment, and a new school. It was her first time away from home, balancing the nervousness of a completely new chapter of her life on her own with the passion she had to learn all she could about nursing and contribute meaningfully to the health system back home in Ghana.
“I was away from everyone I knew and all that I was used to, in a whole new environment,” she says. “So yes, it was quite challenging.”
Growing up in Kumasi, within the Ashanti region of Ghana, Lois always loved helping people wherever she could, an inherent trait of her personality that made the step to nursing all the easier.
“I think that’s what drove me to pursue nursing. I figured it was one of the best ways I could give back and care for people,” she says. “I believe nurses play crucial roles in healthcare. Most of the time, they are the first point of touch with patients and the ones in most contact with them. They also assist doctors in their day-to-day activities. In fact, without nurses, healthcare delivery would be very difficult.”
Determined to achieve her dream of becoming a nurse, she is incredibly passionate about supporting individuals with disabilities - something very near and dear to her heart.
“My drive comes from my personal experience with someone very close to me who struggles with mental health challenges and also, the strong urge to be an advocate for mental health-related problems.”
When it came time to find where best to pursue her passion for helping others, it was a friend who told her about Utica University, hearing particularly good things about the institution’s nursing program, as well as its prime location in upstate New York.
“It was one of the best programs in New York,” she says. “My professors are amazing. They are all so nice and interactive. And I also was attracted to the location of the school with its serene environment and how close to nature it is.”
The proximity to nature has also brought with it an unexpected source of joy.
“Seeing so many squirrels around - it’s so cool and seeing them always makes me smile.”
For a profession with life-altering consequences to those you treat, it’s important to find joy where you can, whether it be the the residents of nature that skitter across the campus, or finding delight in some of the non-healthcare-related classes she’s taking at Utica, giving her the chance to play in the world of performing arts.
“I like to laugh a lot and that I laugh about literally anything,” she says. “Acting class is like a little escape from all the countless terms and reading and memorization in nursing.”
She hopes to one day return to Ghana, taking her experience and using it to contribute meaningfully back home.
“I’d like to push for the advancement of the health sector in my country. For the use of more technology-oriented syllabi in the various health-related courses and more specialized knowledge in healthcare delivery.”
With healthcare systems in the U.S. and in Ghana both literally and figuratively a world apart, Lois hopes a balance can be found between the two that will allow her to improve the lives of those she treats.
“Healthcare here is more advanced than healthcare in Ghana but also more expensive,” she says. “I never studied nursing in Ghana but based on my observation and research, nursing in Ghana teaches resourcefulness and resilience too and nursing here deals with the use of more cutting-edge technology and specialized knowledge. This has urged me to incorporate the values of both worlds into my nursing world.”
As she balances the heavy workload and responsibilities that comes with preparing for a career in the medical field, Lois says that one of the biggest challenges she faced wasn’t even in healthcare itself but instead, in the stomach - when her taste buds collided with many of the foods here in the U.S.
“It’s been a challenge trying to transition from eating very spicy foods to eating foods with little to no spice in them.”
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