A Journey Across Borders

Welcome to my page!

I am Soji Ojo, a psychiatry resident physician at Duke University Hospital, with training in epidemiology and a long-standing commitment to mental health advocacy across borders.

I left Kano, Nigeria for Kharkiv, Ukraine at sixteen to study medicine, the first in my family and in my neighborhood to leave the shores of Africa. What I learned in the years that followed is that healing asks for more than medicine alone can offer. A treatment plan can steady a body, but it cannot make a person feel understood, and I have come to believe that being understood is where healing begins.

Growing up between languages taught me this before I had the words for it. Today I speak English, Russian, Yoruba, Pidgin, and Hausa, with Spanish still in progress. I have found that when patients can name their fear in the language they first learned to fear in, something in the room changes, and the real work becomes possible.

My epidemiology training shapes the questions I ask, because I am interested in the patient in front of me and in the ones who never make it through the door. Stigma, cultural expectation, and the weight of Black Tax keep too many people waiting until waiting is no longer possible. Early in my training, I have cared for numerous patients whose mental illness had gone untreated for years, not because help was unavailable, but because asking for it felt impossible. What often opened the door was not a change in medication. It was recognition. Closing that distance, and advocating for those whose voices often go unheard, is the work I have committed myself to.

I remain curious about how care can be shaped to fit a life rather than the other way around, from helping a child build emotional resilience before the world tests it, to supporting an adult carrying career, family, and expectation at the same time, to walking with an older adult through the losses that come later.

Beyond the Hospital

I founded Scholar Support Foundation, a nonprofit for students facing mental health stigma, financial hardship, and the absence of anyone to guide them. We have worked with students in Nigeria, Kenya, and the United States. Every young mind has the potential to shine when given the right opportunity, and we are honored to play a small part in those journeys.

Finding Balance

Psychiatry is my calling, but I have learned that balance and joy are not optional. When I am not in my white coat, you will likely find me:

• Participating in charity/advocacy events
• Behind a camera
• Spending time with family and friends
• Experimenting in the kitchen with a new recipe

These moments keep me grounded, and they make me better in the room with a patient.

Let’s Connect

Whether you are a student looking for guidance, a colleague interested in collaboration, or someone who simply cares about this work, I would like to hear from you. Please reach out through the contact form below.