Black excellence, meet sibling excellence.
Dr. Chinyere Okpaleke of Houston, Texas, went viral this month after sharing a photo of herself and her four sisters and one brother in honor of National Siblings Day. But what made Dr. Okpaleke’s snap extra special was that she and her siblings are all in the medical field.
The group in the shot includes Chinyere, her brother Dr. Okway Okpaleke, and sisters Physician’s Assistant Chinelo Okpaleke, Dr. Nkiru Osefo, Nurse Practitioner Ifeoma Okpaleke, and Nurse Practitioner Queenate Okpaleke. Another sibling, Dr. Lillian Okpaleke, was not pictured. The photo initially shared on the professional social media platform LinkedIn garnered nearly 170,000 likes from users and 5,900 comments.
Over on Facebook, online users praised the group, including one person who wrote, “So proud to know so many of you wonderful, successful, beautiful people!” Another person commented, “Amazing family!!” They added, “I can’t imagine the combined number of people you have helped during your careers.”
“Okpalekes over Kardashians any day of the freaking week…,” expressed a third. “So proud of your family.” A fourth jokingly wrote, “Now you guys need a show.”
When it comes to the Okpaleke family, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Their father, Dr. Andrew Okpaleke, is a retired physician of internal medicine. He practiced for 30 years. Meanwhile, Dr. Andrew’s wife, Physician’s Assistant Celina Okpaleke, has been practicing for over 20 years.
During an interview with “Good Morning America,” Chinyere Okpaleke, whose patients call her Dr. Chi, said, “We are Nigerian, so we have that cultural background of my parents being immigrant and basically sacrificing coming here for a better life.” She added, “Their idea of wanting us to succeed came across in how they raised us.”
Dr. Okpaleke disclosed that she and all her siblings shared the goal of helping people, and she has often received compliments on their success.
“I have a friend who says my mother’s womb ‘must be very blessed to have produced so many doctors.’ That one is probably the funniest one,” Chinyere Okpaleke said. She even said someone told her they printed out her photo with her siblings and “they have it on their refrigerator so their children can see it as motivation.” Dr. Okpaleke called the gesture “very touching.” “I’m happy that we’re able to shed some light in today’s world.”
