Laquania Odom: Keep going even when it gets tough
Graduate Profile
For Laquania Odom, walking across the Governors State University (GovState) Commencement stage this spring is not just a culmination of her degree, but also a representation of strength after a chronic illness forced her to rely on a wheel chair.
She persevered and remained committed to her education throughout it all—a message she wants to share with others worried about challenges competing with their educational aspirations.
Now, she hopes to use her experience and her degree in Health Administration to follow her passion to help others navigate their healthcare.
GovState Newsroom: What’s your degree and why did you choose it?
Laquania: My degree is in Health Administration. I chose this field because I am passionate about equitable care for all and eradicating biases. This passion stems from my experiences with chronic illnesses, navigating the healthcare system and being mistreated in healthcare due to conscious and unconscious bias.
GovState Newsroom: What attracted you to GovState?
Laquania: I was attracted to GovState because I felt comfortable here as an older non-traditional student. GovState has a wide variety of majors and programs that are affordable.
GovState Newsroom: What clubs and/or activities were you involved with? Any memories stick out with one of them?
Laquania: I am a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS). The induction ceremony is a memory that sticks out. The induction ceremony was special to me because it was one of the first events I attended on campus post COVID.
For a long time, everything had been remote for me. My classes, meetings, even celebrations. My previous graduation was virtual, so just having my family there that night was special to me. Just being in the same room with other students felt powerful. There was a peaceful energy in the air and this feeling of unity. This day was memorable to me.
GovState Newsroom: What are your dreams for your degree?
Laquania: My dream for my degree is to use my knowledge to help create bias free and fair environments in healthcare for patients and staff. Patients should feel safe when they are in the hospital. Patients should be heard, treated with dignity, not judged, given equitable care, and maintain respectful interactions with staff. Staff should feel safe, protected from abuse, heard, valued, paid fair wages, zero tolerance bully environments and maintain respectful relationships with patients and each other.
GovState Newsroom: What advice would you give to current and/or future GovState students?
Laquania: The advice that I am giving is to make your GovState experience your own. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and take advantage of student resources if you need help. Keep going no matter what.
GovState Newsroom: What goal have you achieved that felt really far away your first semester at GovState?
Laquania: The goal that I achieved was learning to walk again. At the beginning of my journey at GovState, I relied on a wheelchair for mobility due to a chronic illness. There were semesters that I had to take off. I had five surgeries during this journey, extensive physical therapy and learned to walk again. Walking across the stage for me represents strength, imperfections, pain, joy, the power of healing and faith.
Until now, only my close friends and family have known but in addition to the other health challenges I’ve faced, I was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. I’m still battling through it. I’ve hesitated to talk about it because I don’t want to be seen as a victim. I want to be seen as a warrior. There are days when getting out of bed feels nearly impossible, but I push myself because I have a goal: to graduate.
I decided to finally speak on this because someone out there might need to know that it’s possible to overcome the obstacles I’ve faced. I want them to know that being a student at GovState made that possible for me. My professors and classmates had no idea what I was going through, but the supportive environment they created helped me succeed. Even on my hardest days and I've had plenty. For that, I am deeply grateful. GovState is more than a school to me it is family.
GovState Newsroom: What album, movie, or TV show was on repeat during your time at GovState?
Laquania: The song that was on repeat during my time at GovState is “God is Good” by Jonathan McReynolds. I watched “Transformers Dark of the Moon,” “Smallville,” and “The Last Kingdom” over and over they are a welcomed distraction for me when needed.