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For Dr. Adedayo Akande, being there for his family is a top priority.
“My father was Nigerian,” Adedayo explains. “In the Nigerian culture, family is very important. In fact, the Nigerian culture treasures family. And I’m thankful for my Nigerian background.”
Two years ago when Adedayo’s father passed away, being there for his family meant stepping into a new role and leading the medical university that his father and mother had started in Antigua. It was a major shift for him that he looks back on as a defining moment in his life.
“When my father passed away, I wasn’t even a part of the organization. I was in corporate America,” Adedayo says. “But when it happened, I realized that who I was and what I was doing needed to change. I believed that I needed to continue my father’s work, so that is what I am doing. And it is something that I am very passionate about.”
As Adedayo contemplated his father’s passing, he understood in a fresh way what it meant to be his father’s son and the responsibility that came along with that role.
“With my father gone, I became responsible for not only my family, but our medical students. When I looked around at the University, I realized my father created all of this. I couldn’t just let it go away. So I jumped ship and am now continuing his legacy..”
Founded in 1982 in Dow’s Hill, Piccadilly Antigua, University of Health Sciences Antigua (UHSA) is a private university that offers students from around the world the opportunity to earn a Doctor of Medicine.
When Adedayo took the helm at UHSA in 2018, he knew he needed to do more than maintain the status quo. The new generation of students that the school was admitting were looking for training in the latest medical trends. So Adedayo began to explore how the school could provide that training.
“We want to be attractive to the new generation of physicians who are entering the world of health care,” says Adedayo. “For example,I believe that psychedelics are the future of medicine, so we want to provide training in that area. We are currently exploring psychedelic research in our medical education.”
As Adedayo settled into his role at UHSA, he soon realized that his work had much more significance than he had initially thought.
“When my father first passed away, I viewed my role as simply carrying on the family business,” explains Adedayo. “But then I realized that we are training physicians who are going to be affecting the lives of countless others in significant ways. I hadn’t understood how big a responsibility it was.”
Rather than allowing the gravity of his position to overwhelm him, Adedayo found peace in zooming out. He realized that his role at the school, while important, was only a small part of a bigger picture.
“It’s much bigger than me,” Adedayo says. “I believe that we are all here for a season. Of course, my father started the organization, but with him no longer here, we must always continue moving forward.”
Adedayo’s attitude allows him to be inspired by the great work of which he is a key part without being overwhelmed by the weight of it. It echoes a Nigerian proverb which says, “One pebble does not make a floor.”
With his work beginning to bear fruit at UHSA, Adedayo soon faced another defining moment; becoming a father. His son was born during the COVID-19 pandemic, something which he says has its pros and cons.
“It’s been such a joy being able to be home so much and to watch him grow,” Adedayo explains. “If not for the changes brought by COVID, I’d be traveling, at meetings, or in the office.”
At the same time, he concedes that being a dad who is always at home has also been a challenge.
“Spending so much time with my son is a blessing but has its challenges, but it’s mostly a blessing,” he says with a chuckle.
When asked about how he juggles all the responsibilities associated with being the president of a university and the father of a newborn, Adedayo says the key is staying focused on the things that make a true difference.
“There is some juggling, but I think the key is establishing priorities,” Adedayo explains. “It is very easy to begin getting involved with issues that in the grand scheme of things don’t move the organization forward or that take a lot of time away from my family.”
He also adds that staying focused on his Christian faith helps him to stay grounded and hopeful, regardless of what struggle he might be facing or how overwhelming a situation might become.
“I love the challenge of juggling the responsibilities of work and fatherhood while staying focused on the priorities that will give my son and my wife the best life possible,” Adedayo says. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
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Photo provided by the author.
