Margaret Aguwa, DO (COM '73)
Each and every one of our students and alumni has a unique journey he or she has taken to arrive at KCU. One exceptional journey is our June featured alumna, Dr. Margaret Aguwa. Dr. Aguwa was born in Nigeria where she attended an Adventist high school with teachers from all around the world. Early on, they saw a great deal of promise in her and encouraged her to learn and strive for the best.
“I always wanted to go into medicine, and I had the great fortune of meeting Dr. Roy Harvey,” said Dr. Aguwa. “He was an osteopathic physician and graduate of KCU. He mentored me, and he and his wife became a second family to me. Over the course of my career I have had many mentors who have pushed me and demanded the best from me.”
That mentorship made an impression on Dr. Aguwa — so much so that in 2000, while teaching at Michigan State University, she created the program OsteoCHAMPS. The initiative was born out of a need to increase diversity within the osteopathic community. It focuses on underserved minority students, bringing in 10th and 11th grade students to Michigan State to experience college life. Since its inception, the program has graduated five DOs, two MDs and several others with degrees in the nursing field. OsteoCHAMPS even extends into additional academic fields, including biochemistry, pharmacy, kinesiology and more.
Increasing opportunities for minority students is especially important for Dr. Aguwa, as she understands the many hurdles these students face. When she first came to KCU, she remembers an incident when she applied for an apartment near campus. After a pleasant phone call with the apartment manager, the same manager refused to rent an apartment to Dr. Aguwa once she arrived in person.
“It was a very traumatic experience, especially for a young student new to the country,” said Dr. Aguwa. “Thankfully, Dr. Mary Lou Butterworth, one of my teachers, contacted the apartment complex and vouched for me. Still, it was a very terrible experience and I remember it very clearly. It is one of the reasons I believe we must foster the education of these young people.”
Dr. Aguwa is married with three sons. Two of her sons earned their MBA, while the third son is an MD in his 5th year of orthopedic residency and will soon head to a fellowship in spinal surgery. Dr. Aguwa and her husband also provide mentorship to both sides of their family. They currently have six relatives who are practicing physicians, including a niece who graduated from KCU in 2006 with a combined DO and MBA.
