Spartan Nurse Nation: Tolulope (Michigan)

Tolulope Jowojori has never taken anything for granted. Growing up as the last of four children to two poultry farmers in Nigeria, young Tolulope quickly learned to value the potential of education, watching her older siblings.

“I just kind of had the mentality of being  the best that I can be,” Jowojori said. “I wanted to get the best out of life.”

That mentality pushed Jowojori to ger her registered nurse license in Nigeria. She fell in love and married Oladotun Jowojori and moved to the United States in 2013. She ultimately found employment at what is now Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak, before Jowojori once again felt that drive to become the best nurse she could be.

“I was working in the (operating room) and I was seeing nurse anesthetists doing everything that I wanted to do,” Jowojori said.” I saw, first-hand, how nurse anesthetists deal with patients. I saw their autonomy, their hands-on skills, and I saw how they compassionately took care of patients during surgery. So, I knew that nurse anesthesia was going to be the right fit for me. I would talk to them and kind of ask them … what steps can I take to be a nurse anesthetist?”

That led her to MSU and, despite the difficulties of going down to one income, having three young children and commuting from the metro Detroit area to East Lansing, Jowojori said it was the right move to enroll in the full-time Nurse Anesthesiology program.

“The MSU College of Nursing is known for producing excellent providers, and I could tell from all the research that I made about all these schools,” she said. “Once I interviewed and I talked to the faculty of the nurse anesthesia program, I could sense their commitment to student success. And I just knew that I wanted to belong to that community.”

That community manifested itself in many ways from celebratory end-of-semester brunches and serving as a group Jowojori could lean on during difficult times. Some of those difficult times included when she would come home after a long day to her children, who would ask her if she had to go to school the next day.

“I didn’t want my children to see me as a failure. I wanted to teach them a lesson through going through and enduring school. I wanted them to know that you can do whatever you set your heart  and mind to do. I wanted to get to the finish line because I had so many people who were looking up to me,” said Jowojori, adding one of her daughters has expressed an interest in one day following in her mother’s footsteps and becoming a CRNA.

Today, Jowojori is a CRNA at Corewell Health Farmington Hills Hospital, where she says she is honored to work alongside “amazing” colleagues in the OR and considers being a nurse anesthetist a “life-changing career.” In particular, Jowojori enjoys seeing patients before they come into the OR and helping to allay any concerns they might have, as well as ensuring they’re in good hands once they’re in surgery.

Never one to settle, Jowojori still has that drive and is always thinking about how she can become a stronger nurse.

“I want to continue to grow as a nurse anesthetist and eventually go into academics,” she said. “I want to be able to give back what has been given to me — pay it forward. And I also want to be able to mentor people who desire to be a nurse anesthetist, especially minorities like me and people who come from other countries who get here and feel lost. I want to be a beacon of hope to other people.”