Scholar Stories: Nyambio Working to Carry Volleyball Success Into Career in Orthopedics
11/6/2024 12:17:00 PM | Volleyball, Features
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each week MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
By Louisa Lynn
At the age of 5, Serena Nyambio decided she wanted to be a doctor. Now, the University of Michigan volleyball player is nailing the balance of her challenging pre-med courses along with being the team's starting middle blocker.
From a young age, her parents, Jean Felix and Sandrine Nyambio, ingrained the essentials into their daughter: medicine creates opportunities, sports are crucial, hard work opens opportunities and academics are essential. Growing up in Michigan also taught Nyambio something she embodies on and off the court; a phrase that brings the community together no matter where you are: Go Blue.
As a dedicated student in a rigorous academic high school -- Detroit Country Day School in Troy, Mich. -- Nyambio fell in love with the balance and schedule that came with a passion for varsity athletics along with being the best student she could be. Named to the 2022 Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 list as well as being one of the 2022 AVCA Biggest and Brightest, she had the opportunity to continue her academic and athletic career outside of Michigan, but Nyambio was persuaded by the idea of having family close by and in her words, Michigan "is one of the best universities in the country, maybe even in the world." So, it made perfect sense for her to attend a university she has cheered for her whole life.
Once she committed, she knew she was in the perfect place to access resources to not only develop her volleyball skills but also develop her into the best candidate she can be for medical school.
Medical school on its own presents a challenge, but the added responsibilities being a student-athlete come with their own set of hurdles. Nyambio often finds herself doing school work between classes and while traveling.
"It keeps me very organized and disciplined in a sense but it's hard," she said. "You have to spend a lot of extra work just to stay on top, and during bus rides, I'll do homework or even plane rides, just because I need and want to stay organized."
This balance is one that many Division I student-athletes find themselves encountering. In order to help student-athletes find a path they are passionate about, the University of Michigan has the MACC -- Michigan Athletics Career Center.
MACC has allowed Nyambio to meet and network with many doctors and even facilitate a career trip to New York where she was able to meet many doctors who could steer her on the path of her future career. From those doctors Nyambio gained a perspective from a different medical field than the one she grew up with, and that only fueled more her passion for the profession.
"My mom and dad are both in the medical field," said Nyambio. "My dad owns a bunch of nursing homes; he does anesthesia and my mom is a nurse and she is extra impressive with helping my dad with the business."
Despite being exposed to those two paths of medicine from the very beginning, Nyambio desires to become an orthopedic doctor or an orthopedic surgeon.
Being able to help people, especially athletes at the very beginning of their recovery, would be her goal. Venturing into the sports medicine side of orthopedics is something Nyambio is excited about for med school; but as many of her friends or peer athletes want to venture into physical therapy, she wants to remain at the forefront of recovery to give patients the answers they have been looking for and being the one to repair their injuries.
As a Division I athlete, she knows how detrimental not receiving the care that you need to return to your sport could be. Her time spent interning and shadowing the Detroit Lions' team doctor and the Baltimore Ravens' doctor showed Nyambio that it is something she wants to do.
"They were also former athletes, so as a former athlete I feel like I can add a valuable perspective and area of connection to my patients in what is often such a painful, vulnerable and frustrating time," Nyambio said.
While she is excited for her life after sports, Nyambio is not ready to fully engross herself in her future. She will continue to give 100 percent on the court or in whatever activity she is doing at that specific moment.
"I think compartmentalizing is crucial in order to perform," Nyambio said.
Performing at her best is exactly what she has been doing. As a sophomore, Nyambio was selected as an Academic All-Big Ten and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree, highlighting her dedication to athletics and academics.
This year, Nyambio has continued her playing streak of 32 consecutive starts and a total of 69 consecutive sets, only coming to an end due to a brief injury. With all that playing time, Nyambio is able to keep her grades up, be a mentor to her teammates and embody the No. 1 she wears on and off the court.
Based on her commitment to volleyball and her dedication to her teammates and academics, Nyambio is on her way to a successful path in the medical field.
