Driven to serve: Nursing student brings military resilience to patient care
Moyinoluwa Akindele
For Moyinoluwa Akindele, nursing was never just a career choice — it was personal.
Growing up in Nigeria, Akindele watched her two sisters navigate autoimmune disorders and saw firsthand the challenges families face when it comes to accessing healthcare, understanding medications and managing chronic conditions.
“Access to medications, medication adherence — it’s all the same thing,” Akindele said. “And then just going to hospitals and seeing patients and talking with them and hearing their situations, I think that really solidified that this was the right path for me to be on.”
Now, Akindele is preparing to graduate as part of UNT Health Fort Worth’s inaugural undergraduate nursing class while carrying with her six years of experience in the Army Reserves — an experience she says shaped her resilience, discipline and perspective on service.
“It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Akindele said of her military service. “But because it was so hard, I’m able to overcome situations and be like, ‘Yeah, nothing is as hard as the military.’”
Akindele enlisted in the Army Reserves immediately after high school and served as
a mechanic specialist while simultaneously completing nursing prerequisites and later
attending nursing school. Balancing military responsibilities, school, volunteer work
and a job often pushed her to her limits.
“There were times I would come back from military duties and have an exam,” she said. “I felt like I was balancing so many things at once.”
Despite the challenges, Akindele credits the military with teaching her grit, adaptability and confidence in tackling unfamiliar situations.
“Learning something completely different from healthcare really helped me learn how to approach new concepts and new ideas,” she said.
Although she once considered becoming a doctor, Akindele ultimately chose nursing because she wanted a more direct role in patient care.
“Nurses are the people patients see the most,” she said. “You get to be that person who comforts them and advocates for them.”
When choosing where to pursue nursing, Akindele said UNT Health stood out not only
because of financial support offered through her military experience, but because
the institution’s mission aligned with her own values.
“I fell in love with it because it was all about making healthcare affordable and making healthcare education accessible,” she said. “The mission and values aligned with my mission and values.”
As part of UNT Health’s first undergraduate nursing cohort, Akindele said the experience has felt especially meaningful.
“I just feel like the level of care that we had felt so special and so significant,” she said. “Every milestone that we’ve accomplished has felt meaningful.”
One of the moments that impacted her most was receiving her white coat from faculty members she deeply respected.
“It felt deeply emotional,” Akindele said. “I’m being welcomed into the College of Nursing by nurses that I look up to.”
Looking ahead, Akindele hopes to work in intensive care before eventually pursuing flight nursing with the Air Force and becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist.
She is especially drawn to providing critical care in high-pressure environments because of the impact nurses can have during life-threatening situations.
“That care that you are doing while transporting that patient could really save their life,” she said.
No matter where her career takes her, Akindele says her goal is simple: to become the kind of nurse patients can trust.
“I want to be a nurse that is competent,” she said. “I want to advocate for my patients. I want them to leave the hospital understanding what brought them there and what they can do to get better.”
For veterans and nontraditional students considering nursing, Akindele hopes her story serves as encouragement.
“You are not racing with anybody,” she said. “Your journey is your journey.”