Dr. Khadija Owusu was never meant to fit into the moulds society had prepared for her. Growing up in Tottenham, North London, she was surrounded by challenges that could have easily derailed her dreams—financial hardship, the weight of being a first-generation immigrant, and the glaring absence of Black role models in medicine. But instead of letting those challenges define her, she used them as fuel.

As a child, she would watch her mother juggle multiple jobs to provide for her and her siblings. It was in those moments that resilience became second nature to her. From a young age, she knew she wanted to become a doctor—not because she had anyone to look up to in the profession, but because she saw the gaps in healthcare, especially for Black and ethnic minority communities. Her younger brother’s battle with sickle cell disease only made her more determined to step into the field and be the change she wished to see.

Despite her passion, the road was far from smooth. There were teachers who subtly discouraged her, suggesting that medicine might be “too ambitious” for someone like her. There were financial constraints that threatened to limit her access to the best educational resources. But she refused to be boxed in. Excelling in school, she earned a scholarship to a top sixth-form college and later secured a place in medical school—a testament to her sheer will and determination.

While training to become a doctor, Khadija saw first-hand the struggles Black students faced in medical education—lack of support, underrepresentation, and systemic barriers that made the journey twice as hard. Instead of just surviving these challenges, she decided to change the system. She co-founded Melanin Medics, an organisation committed to mentoring and empowering Black medical students, helping them break through barriers she herself had faced.

Her work didn’t stop there. With a heart deeply connected to her Ghanaian roots, she founded AKAYA, a non-profit organisation focusing on female education, health, and empowerment. She understood that the fight for equity in medicine wasn’t just a UK issue—it was a global one. Through AKAYA, she has worked tirelessly to create opportunities for young girls in Ghana to access healthcare and education, believing that every girl, no matter where she’s born, deserves a chance to thrive.

Khadija’s impact has been widely recognised. From receiving the Princess Diana Award to being named one of the UK’s top Black students, her accolades are impressive, but they are simply by-products of her true purpose: to create a medical field where no one is left behind because of their race or background. Her powerful TED Talk, “Representation Creates Medicine That Saves Lives,” is a call to action, urging institutions to embrace diversity—not as a checkbox, but as a necessity for better healthcare outcomes.

But if you ask her, her proudest moments aren’t the awards or the recognition. They are the emails from young Black students telling her they applied to medical school because of her. They are the girls in Ghana who, through AKAYA, now have access to education and healthcare. They are the patients who feel seen and heard because there is finally a doctor who looks like them, who understands their struggles, and who fights for them.

Dr. Khadija Owusu is not just a doctor. She is a movement. A force of change. A living proof that no matter where you come from, no matter the obstacles in your path, if you dare to dream and fight relentlessly for that dream, you can—and will—change the world.