Rejoice Tapon

Rejoice Tapon was born around 1992 near the borders of Cameroon, Nigeria, and Chad, and grew up in a village called Houloum in West Africa's Sahel — without plumbing, electricity, or a birth certificate. His father died when Rejoice was nine. His mother died the year after he left home at thirteen, a departure driven by the dangers surrounding his conversion to Christianity. By fourteen he was orphaned, and Boko Haram's presence in the region disrupted what schooling remained.

As a child, Rejoice was fascinated by the village healers — "witch doctors" — who treated people with potions and incantations. That early fascination became the seed of a lifelong pull toward medicine. At thirteen, on the day he left home, he chose the name "Rejoice" for himself.

Arrival in the United States

Rejoice arrived in the United States at 26 years old, functionally illiterate in math and science. He earned his GED and joined the U.S. Navy as a Hospital Corpsman. He has deployed twice: once on a humanitarian mission aboard the world's largest hospital ship, and once embedded as the sole medical provider with an infantry platoon during a combat deployment.

Tested Under Fire

During live-fire training, Rejoice survived a stray round that struck his head. He was hospitalized for six days while concussed — and scored 92% on his Chemistry II exam just two days after being released.

What's Next

Rejoice is completing his bachelor's degree on the pre-med track, with his sights set on medical school and a surgical residency — ideally in cardiothoracic surgery. Long term, he intends to volunteer with Médecins Sans Frontières, bringing his path full circle back to the kind of care that first inspired him as a child.

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