A photo of a Nigerian-American family has gone viral on LinkedIn after it was posted by one of them earlier this month. It was in commemoration of World Siblings day and Dr. Chinyere Okpaleke decided to share the picture of her siblings who all practice medicine.
The picture is the epitome of Black Excellence; that explains why it earned the admiration of almost 170,000 people on the professional networking platform, with about 6000 comments.
The Okpaleke is a family of nine — six girls, their brother, and parents. They are: Lillian Okpaleke, M.D., Okway Okpaleke, M.D., Chinelo Okpaleke, P.A., Nkiru Osefo, M.D., Ifeoma Okpaleke, N.P., Queenate Okpaleke, N.P. and Chinyere Okpaleke.
Their father, Andrew Okpaleke, M.D., is a retired physician of internal medicine who was in the practice for more than 30 years and their mother, Celina Okpaleke, P.A., has been in the field for over 20 years.
Their parents’ profession had an influence on them and their choice of career which they do not regret. Being immigrants from Nigeria, they made a lot of sacrifices for their families to succeed and have the right foundation to thrive. “We are Nigerian, so we have that cultural background of my parents being immigrants and basically sacrificing coming here for a better life,” Chinyere Okpaleke told Good Morning America. “Their idea of wanting us to succeed came across in how they raised us.”
Chinyere, called Dr. Chi by her patients, is a family medicine hospitalist living in Houston. She said if she had the choice of choosing between her family and that of the Kardashians, she will choose hers a million times over because she is proud of what they do; saving lives.
“If I had to choose between The Okpaleke’s Vs The Kardashian’s… I would choose US every single time.”
“I know our parents and ancestors are beyond proud! We are exactly what their sacrifices were meant for! All glory to God,” she added.
The siblings believe the photo they posted on National Siblings Day will give hope to little ones that have big dreams to pursue them. “I’ve had someone say they printed it out and they have it on their refrigerator so their children can see it as motivation,” Dr. Chi said. “It’s very touching. I’m happy that we’re able to shed some light in today’s world.”
