October 8, 2026
Usman Badaru is one of 700 alumni from Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College (RINI), a charter public school in Providence. Usman currently works in the neurological intensive care unit (neuro ICU) at Rhode Island Hospital. He mentors RINI students and serves on the school’s board of directors.
Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College (RINI) alumnus Usman Badaru is hoping to be an inspiration to current RINI students.
Usman moved from Nigeria to Providence at age 13. His family faced temporary homelessness before he found the right school in RINI.
At RINI, hands-on, career-focused learning introduced Usman to health care and gave him a path into nursing.
“At RINI, I got introduced to health care and I think a lot of the time people have ideas of what they want to be when they grow up and don’t really get the assistance in taking actionable steps towards that but RINI helped me take those steps towards healthcare,” Usman said.
Rhode Island charter public schools are governed by a volunteer board of directors made up of community members like Usman. As a charter public school board member, Usman will help make sure that student learning is relevant and reflective of current nursing practice.
“I had no doubts [Usman] would be a success, but what really touches my heart is that he wants to come back and really help RINI and help the next generation of students and healthcare professionals,” said RINI’s Dr. Pam McCue.
Read News 10 WJAR’s full report, “From Homelessness to Becoming a Nurse in RI Hospitals’ ICU.”
Posted by Lauren Matlach