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Meet Andrew Igbokidi: The med school student going national with music

One UAMS student originally from Chicago shows he's talented in more than one field of study, by making it onto a national music competition.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Most people know that medical school can be very difficult and time-consuming.

Now imagine trying to do all the work of trying to plan a career in medicine, while also trying to do the work to become a performer.  

Originally from Chicago, Andrew Igbokidi eventually moved to Hot Springs— And like any medical student, he's on the path to a pretty bright future.

"I'm looking at cardiology, orthopedic surgery, sort of had an interest in neurology at one point," Igbokidi said.

This is his first year in med school, so he still has plenty of time to figure it out.

Before starting at UAMS, he decided why not go out for the national music competition show, The Voice. 

His first audition consisted of a 30-second video of him singing.

Hours later, it lead to the next step of actually getting on the show.

"I got an email back saying you got to call back and I was like, okay, what does this mean," Igbokidi said.

It, of course, meant a few months of juggling singing his heart out all the while he worked to study his hardest.

"It was a lot of compartmentalizing and figuring out the right moments to do certain things and just conserving my energy overall," He described. 

In his earlier years, he said he found his love for the field through his own experiences in the hospital.

"I was a CNA in the hospital for a year and a half, two years, and I got to actually witness, you know, dynamics between the patients and the nurses and the doctors," Igbokidi said.

That was his only connection.

He said his mom, who is a cardiologist in Hot Springs, missed a lot of things in his life growing up because of her job.

Though he understands why he said he'll be taking a different and more mental health-focused approach. 

"I think for me, it's just going to be choosing a line of work that I'm passionate about, but also offers me a work-life balance I like," Igbokidi said. 

One of his biggest reason for joining the medical field was because of his grandfather who died from COVID in 2020.

"My grandpa was such a champion for me of my medical career with my singing career, he really believed in me a lot of times more than I did," He added.

While Igbokidi's stint on The Voice ended in November, because of that he now has more time to focus on studying.

If you were to ask him whether his future lies in medicine or music, he'll tell you he doesn't have a concrete decision. 

"If you prepare and you know do things ahead of time and you just do things on time, at least you do find free time within your schedule to do the things you want to do," Igbokidi explained.

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