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Cynthia Ukah was born and raised in Queensbridge, a housing development in New York
City. After successfully completing primary and secondary school, which included participating
in court-ordered busing to attend white-majority schools, she was accepted at prestigious
Howard University, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary and Special
Education in the spring of 1983.
While at Howard, she met Ferdinand Ukah, a Nigerian citizen and a student at the
Howard University College of Medicine. After becoming a doctor, Ferdinand was competitively
selected to specialize in transplant surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Ferdinand was later hired by the University of Iowa Hospital where he quickly became a rising
star. It wasn’t long before Dr. Ukah was chosen to start a regional transplant center for the
University of South Alabama in Mobile.
Along the way, Cynthia and Ferdinand fell in love, as they learned to appreciate and
eventually embrace their vast cultural differences. Getting married while Ferdinand was in his
medical residency at Howard, the two of them soon became the loving parents of four children
over the course of six short years.
It was then that disaster struck. Ferdinand died unexpectedly while visiting his family in
Nigeria to organize and supervise a kidney transplant for his aging father. Despite this
overwhelming tragedy, Cynthia leaned heavily on her abiding faith in God and the support of her
community in Iowa City as she dedicated herself to raising her children as a single parent.
As her children got older and went to college, Cynthia rejoined the work force as a
special education teacher in the Iowa City Community School District. Cynthia continues to
work there today, as she devotes her time to lovingly help elementary school children with
special needs.
Cynthia is active in the community, as she enjoys her many close friends, participates in
church activities, and is a member of local planning boards. Most importantly, she also maintains
loving bonds with her four wonderful children (Adanna, Nneka, Okechukwu Jr., and Chike), and
her mother Roberta.
A Marriage Made in Heaven is the first of what Cynthia hopes to be many books.
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