AFRICA | A brilliant African woman named Metabel Markwei has achieved an extraordinary milestone by earning a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, United States, becoming the first person in her family to study abroad and earn a university degree.
Metabel arrived in the United States ten years ago with a simple goal: to earn a college degree.
Through grit, resilience, and unwavering determination, that modest dream grew into something far greater. In a decade, she earned three academic degrees, culminating in her medical qualification.
“I am grateful to be birthed in love, raised with sacrifice, and shaped in grit,” she shared.
Metabel's Story and How She Did It
Born and raised in Ghana, Metabel grew up in a small annex attached to her family’s medical clinic in Accra. As a child, she had little understanding of medicine, but she often helped by delivering her grandmother’s homemade meals to patients.
“When they sent me with food trays, I would talk to the patients and nurses for hours,” she recalled. Unknowingly, those small moments planted the seeds for her future in healthcare.
As the first in her family to study abroad, Metabel began her academic journey at Yale University, where she studied Medical Anthropology and Global Health, exploring how social, cultural, and systemic factors influence healthcare outcomes.
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Her passion for medicine deepened during her studies, particularly in women’s health, leading her to earn a Master’s degree in Biochemistry, Reproductive, Stem Cell, and Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins University.
She finally fulfilled her lifelong dream by completing her Doctor of Medicine degree at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.
Dedicating her achievement, Metabel committed it to girls like herself, especially first-generation immigrants who are determined.
“For dreamer-girls, too soft-spoken, for surgical fields. First-generation immigrants with impossible odds. Black girls are often the only ones in the room. Firsts in families told to aim lower. Those whose quiet confidence in God is their hope forever,” she said.
Reflecting on her immigrant journey, she acknowledged the courage it took to leave everything familiar in pursuit of her dreams.
Metabel credited her success to her late grandparents and parents, whose sacrifices shaped her path, and to her mentors, whom she described as “lighthouses” guiding her through difficult seasons.
Celebrating her triumph, Metabel quoted poet Lucille Clifton: “Won’t you celebrate with me what I have shaped into a kind of life? Both nonwhite and a woman. Come celebrate with me that every day something has tried to kill me and has failed.”
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