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MORE THAN JUST A GAME AS RAMS HOST JMU ON PINK ZONE DAY RICHMOND, Va. – Coaching on the collegiate level is about much more than winning games. It’s about helping young student-athletes mature become successful in all aspects of life. Because of that reason, it is no surprise that Assistant Coach Amaka Agugua is where she is today. Agugua came to VCU three years ago searching to get into the coaching profession to help young girls turn into women during their collegiate playing career. Everyone that has gotten to know Agugua over the years knows exactly where she got the trait of the desire to help others, Dr. Chinwe Mmaegbunam Otue-Agugua, her mother. “She was truly an angel here on earth,” Agugua said. “All in all, she was amazing. She did things that normal human beings could not even think of doing! She was and still is my superwoman...my hero!” Dr. Chinwe Mmaegbunam Otue-Agugua was born in Toronto, Canada, but moved with her parents and six siblings back to her parents’ native country of Nigeria when she was only six years old. Unrest in Nigeria eventually broke out into a civil war and their hometown of Awka was bombed and overrun. Chinwe and family became refugees in a nearby refugee camp until they were given a more secure home by some friends. Right away, she took a leadership role in the family, helping to protect her beloved siblings.
“At one point, she worked two full-time jobs as a surgeon, but still managed to make it to mine and my brother’s games and my sister’s chorus concerts,” Agugua said. “She gave us the tools that we needed to be successful, and that's why we all are today. She worked, traveled, and took us on family trips all through our childhood, and throughout the time that she was battling cancer. As a matter of fact she worked all the way up until 2 months before she passed away.” Amaka, Chinwe and family all had their worlds turned upside down on September 11th, 2002 when Chinwe was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. “She really didn’t even think twice about it, she said right away, “I’m going to beat this thing”,” Agugua said. That’s exactly what she did, but cancer returned in her lungs a short time later. After beating that, it returned in her other breast, which she beat yet again. It returned for a fourth time in October of 2007 in her liver. “Through all she was going through, she never quit smiling” Agugua said. “She knew that she had patients and co-workers that needed to see that infectious smile, and that’s what she kept doing. She was just an incredible inspiration to anyone who was around her.” On October 29th, 2008, Chinwe passed away and she is greatly missed each day by her family, friends and colleagues. “I learned so many life lessons from my mother,” Agugua said. “Her perseverance was a big one. She always stayed strong in her faith no matter what the obstacle was. She took them all on and conquered them all with a smiling face and a positive attitude. She stayed strong and positive, always consoling everyone else.” Chinwe’s incredible story has been such an influence on this year’s Virginia Commonwealth University basketball team who sits at 20-4 and 10-2, tied for atop the CAA standings with James Madison and Drexel. The Rams will host JMU on Sunday afternoon and will celebrate the WBCA’s annual “Pink Zone” day. The squad will dedicate the contest in honor of Chinwe. Game time at the Stuart C. Siegel Center is set for 2 p.m.
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As the war came to a close, she and members of her moved back to the United States, where she immediately started a journey towards becoming one of the best surgeons in the Washington D.C. area. All rights reserved.
