Chisom Rutherford

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐜𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐧𝐮𝐬, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲’𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝. The Diana Award was established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, to recognise young people creating sustained social change. Princess Diana was remembered not merely for her position, but for how she used it. She crossed social boundaries, moved towards people others overlooked and made those experiencing illness, exclusion or hardship feel seen. Her compassion was not distant. It was personal, courageous and practical. Long before I understood the significance of her example, I had already encountered those qualities in my mother. I watched her notice people. I watched her care, give and serve without needing recognition. Through her, I learnt that leadership is not primarily about occupying an important position. It is about recognising the humanity in others and using what you have to make their lives better. She was my first model of compassionate leadership. My story began in Ondo State. I did not come from a bad background, but I came from an environment that could easily have limited how far I imagined life could go. While managing a community pharmacy, I encountered people who arrived worried, confused or in pain. I saw how the right information and appropriate care could restore hope. That experience planted a conviction: Healthcare should be easier to understand, and young people should be equipped to solve the problems around them. That conviction became @eohealthhub. Through ViHLERT, we trained 415 medical students from over 30 medical schools in our first edition. In 2026, the programme attracted over 800 applicants from more than 24 universities. Through @MentorMatrix_N and Publish to Greatness, we are also creating pathways for mentorship, research, leadership development and opportunity. While studying medicine at @Babcock_Univ, I became the 11th President of the Babcock University Association of Medical Students (BUAMS) and founded its first Clinical and Scientific Conference. Today, work that began quietly has received global recognition. But this ward is not permission to relax. It is a responsibility to serve more people, strengthen the institutions we are building and continue developing practical solutions for better healthcare in Africa. To every young person who feels limited by where they started: Your beginning may describe you, but it does not have the authority to define everything you can become. Use what is in your hands. Leadership begins with usefulness, not titles. I am deeply grateful to parents, guardians, friends, nominators, mentors, teams and everyone who has carried this journey with me. Above everything else, I give all the glory to God. What looked like rejection became redirection. What began quietly has reached the world. There is more. #2026DianaAward