By virtue of this award, he has won a scholarship to Yale University to pursue a degree in medicine and has been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Society, a prestigious honour group that features membership of 17 US Presidents, 37 US Supreme Court Justices, and 136 Nobel Prize winners.
In an online interview with PUNCH correspondent, the Abia State native who left the Nigerian shores at 13 narrated his ordeal in the hands of racists, "I went to Fondren Middle School, which was in the middle of the ghetto. That was one of the darkest years for me because I encountered a lot of peer pressure.
Some of the students, ignorant about Africa, bullied me and called me names such as 'African booty scratcher' because to them, Africans were dirty and scratched their butts all the time. Some asked me if I lived in mud huts and ate faeces for breakfast. I remember one day, when I was walking to the school bus, a boy came from behind and punched me in the face, called me an African and walked away. It took everything in me not to retaliate. I knew that God had put me in the U.S for a purpose and it did not involve fighting or selling drugs or doing the wrong things.
On his choice of course Ohuabunwa said, "I studied Neuroscience, because I was fascinated with the brain, its control of our behaviours and how various diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, lead to a decline in its activity.
I also minored in Psychology because I wanted to understand disorders in the psyche. What causes bipolar disorders or schizophrenia. I did not just want to label them as crazy but to understand what causes these conditions and how we can treat them,'' he explained.
His ambition is to become a Neurosurgeon and help his country Nigeria.
"I am absolutely interested in the health care policy decisions in Nigeria. Because there are many changes that need to occur, I will not rule out the possibility of coming back after my studies, in order to join hands with the leaders to make these changes possible.''
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