Tobi Sokunbi is a third-year student-athlete with StFX University, working towards a Bachelor of Science in Nursing while playing on the defensive line for X-Men football. Tobi came to StFX in September of 2023 from his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, originally committed to obtaining a Bachelor of Arts & Science in Health. After his completing his first year of the health program, Tobi made the switch into nursing with a desire to have a more hands-on learning experience and hoped that the switch allow him to make a more immediate impact on people’s lives after graduation. During his time at StFX, Tobi has been active in the community, working as a peer advisor at the Black Student Success Center on campus, helping mentor future generations at the X-Men football summer camps, and has gained various recognitions including the Danny Galvin Memorial Scholarship in recognition of leadership and academic excellence, as well as an Academic All-Canadian recognition. Through his academics, clinical experiences, and work with course professors, Tobi has also developed a keen interest for research, hoping to pursue future studies in the field of medical imaging and issues with access in rural areas such as Antigonish, Nova Scotia. After his time at StFX, Tobi plans to begin his nursing career, while hoping to pursue further education in the areas of flight nursing, nurse practitioner, or medical school.
We had a chance to sit down with Tobi and hear first-hand about life as a student-athlete at StFX, and why he chose the path he did:
Question: “What made you choose X?”
Answer: “The culture, I would say. On my recruitment visit, the coaches harped on about how they support their students academically. The small class sizes, they mentioned the easy transition from high school. And the people here on my visit, the people I met, and the teammates I currently have now seeing how they all gelled with each other. The sense of family, you could tell the sense of family is there. It’s a sense of family, belonging, and that I can make my own community here. And then I would also have supports with my academics through athletics.”
Question: “Has there been a project or professor that’s really inspired you to want to do research?”
“Jesse McNichol. It’s not nursing, its microbiology, but his research on it, and his research experience that he’s told us about has just made me more interested in research and wanted to pursue research. Maybe not in microbiology, but it’s made me want to pursue that aspect. It’s fun to learn. It’s fun to learn a lot of things about a specific thing. So you know, I would just like to know more. The way he teaches with the knowledge he has learned, and the experiences he’s had working with other professors like Erin Mazerolle - she’s done research on the brain, and I almost did a project with her in first year - just the way they talk about it about the experiences running it, and how it could possibly impact people and the changes it could create – that’s what’s got me interested in research.”
Question: “How have your experiences as an athlete influenced the way you approach your studies?”
Answer: “It’s made me more I would say aware of time management. I would say football teaches me discipline and with that discipline it translates into nursing and in academics. Like as you know you need discipline. There’s not really that much fun time, like we practice until pretty late and there’s always things to do, things to read. It’s the discipline to, okay I want to be the best I can be in both aspects. It’s the discipline to wake up early and go to lifts, and instead of staying up all night playing video games, getting your work done.”
Question: “How do you see your role as athlete within your community and what impact do you hope to make off the field?”
Answer: “Off the field, I just want to make people feel like they belong. The sense of community that brought me here, I want to create that for other people. For example, in my job as a peer mentor, my job is not to facilitate, but it is to connect people to the resources they may need. I help people find the things they need, and I help connect people to those sources. It is helping people find a sense of community, helping people feel like they belong – just to help people off the field. Like this summer. I stayed [in Antigonish] over the summer, and we had a kid’s camp. It’s helping people find what their niche is, kids trying out different positions, trying to find out what better suits them, what better works for them. Helping them find that love for football, and that joy that I get – I try and give that to other people.”
Question: “If you could give advice to younger athletes or students following in your footsteps, what would you say?”
“Be patient. There’s a thing my coach tells me: it’s ‘Paralysis from analysis’, it means just let things happen, let life happen. A lot of things will go on in life, there’s lots of obstacles, there’s lots of highs and lows. In athletics, especially coming into university, you are not where you want to be and it takes time to get there, but enjoy that process. Even with academics, it’s an eye-opening process, the first midterm after high school. Like let’s say you’re a good student in high school, it’s a whole different thing in university. So, the first few tests they might not go as well as you want them to but just trust the process. Let life happen and try to work out what works for you… Most important one is ‘paralysis from analysis’, don’t get stuck while thinking about the process, don’t get stuck, don’t let life stick you. Don’t get dragged down in your own head. Just let life flow, don’t get paralysed from analyzing things.”
Tobi’s journey is still unfolding, but his commitment to growth on the field, in the classroom, and the contributions he makes to his community already set him apart. Grounded by discipline, driven by curiosity, and motivated by a desire to give back, Tobi represents a leadership style that inspires others to follow. As he continues carving his path in football, nursing, and research, Tobi remains focused on what matters most: creating community, embracing the process, and helping others to find their place at StFX, just as he found his.
