Nii-Daako Darko, D.O., M.B.A. ’96

Trauma surgeon, Podcast host Outside the Box

“I didn’t get into medical school the first time I applied, but anything you want, you have to try again harder. I applied again and now I’m a trauma surgeon.

I grew up in Irvington with very blue collar parents from Ghana who believed that education was the best way to get ahead in life. Coming from where I grew up, and going to St. Benedict’s, everything was very different. At first, I had a hard time adjusting, but resilience is using the resources available to you to get back up after a setback. We all have resilience in us, but sometimes we need to be shown that we have it — it’s about getting knocked down, but not knocked out.

I received a financial aid package to attend St. Benedict’s and that was huge for me. As a kid, I didn’t truly realize the sacrifice my parents made, or even the person contributing to the scholarship, but now that I understand it, it’s important to me to give back and help someone like me get to experience a school like St. Benedict’s. Even now, the lessons I learned there are still there for me.

At St. Benedict’s we’re taught, “Whatever hurts my brother, hurts me.” Every day I see people from all kinds of backgrounds. They’re at the hospital because something went wrong. They didn’t expect to be there, so the two questions I ask myself are: ‘Can I comfort them?’ and ‘How can I get them back home to their families?’

When I began to see the number of cases that come into the emergency room having to do with gunshots and knives, I started asking how we could go above and beyond to break the cycle. So, along with a team of fellow medical professionals, we started reaching out to young patients who had a higher likelihood of returning back to the Emergency Department as trauma patients. We’re taking a holistic view of breaking the cycle: establishing mentorship, developing their ability to get jobs — it will take time and it’s not perfect, but it’s worth it.”