Sitting next to one of my newest friends on a Swiss train to Bellinzona (the capital of Ticino, Canton in Switzerland) we boasted of our ideals of pursuing success outside of children. We repeated what many women have stated, “once you have children, your life and sleep filled mornings will be over.” When we reached our destination, we trailed behind Dr. Sangoseni (a professor and Study abroad Director through Maryville University at Franklin University in Lugano, Switzerland) until she noticed it was us who sat behind her talking of our mis-perceived realities of child rearing. Through her loving correction, she shared her experience of childrearing and that it doesn’t have to be in the way we described it. She proceeded on by telling us that she decided to have her children while obtaining her doctorate degrees and things wentbeautifully for her and her family. Afterwards, she said life is not over when you have children and strongly encouraged us that whatever we do, to continue on with our education not fearingthe unknown of child rearing.
Dr. Olaide Sangoseni PT, DPT, MSc, PhD. is a physical therapist who practices health & wellness through her nonprofit Provident Wellness Outreach in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Sangoseni, specializes in the musculoskeletal disorders of the body with a manual therapyapproach, and she is board certified in geriatric physical therapy. She’s earned two doctoratedegrees; the first, a clinical doctorate in physical therapy (DPT), and the second, as a doctor of philosophy in physical therapy. But, most importantly, she is a wife and mother of four.
Dr. Sangoseni’s passion and is demonstrated all year around mostly in her local community where during the spring and fall semesters she and students organize health and wellness outreaches. During the holidays her family, colleagues and partners, travel abroad to serve international communities; free of charge. Each summer, Dr. Sangoseni and her family spends time abroad serving students as a professor through Maryville University.
As a woman of color, University College London, England graduate, and earner of two doctorate degrees; what kept her excelling over time and through the challenges of life was knowing of who she was and her refusal to not be ignorant of society in which I exists. She stated her belief was, “I cannot afford to be average. Average, I will get left behind.” When she achieved one goal she challenged herself with a new one. She states, “if you’re not challenged then you’ll fall intomediocrity. For people of color, education is your platform.”
She maintains her international competitive edge through higher education and by being fluent infive languages. She states, “language is extremely important on an international scale.” Most Europeans can speak no less than two languages but too many Americans can only speak one. She states, “an individual doesn’t have to be fluent but has to have the humility to learn the basic standards of language in order to compete on the international playing field”.
Dr. Sangoseni and her husband have four children who have begun their journeys in higher-ed.She shared, while in grad school the protocols of a broken school system attempted to destroy the outlook of two of her children’s future. Her resolve was to remove her children and thus she began homeschooling where she learned the best mechanisms for teaching.
When asked if she had any pearls of wisdom for children living in poverty she stated, “For grade students, they must have a solid foundation in math and english”. She continues, “there has to be a dream in the heart of the students. If a teacher or an adult figure is putting them down by saying negative things to them they should know that they don’t have to believe what they say and that person is choosing to miss out on that part of who they are”.
Thank you Dr. Sangoseni for all of your hard work!