Occupation: Project Development Supervision at EXXONMOBIL
Husband: James Harthoon
Children: Livi, 15; Jeddy, 13; Joanna (Jojo) 9; Gideon, 8; and Benjamin, 4
Hobbies: Reading, hanging out with friends, musical theater, walking, and cooking Indian food
Meet Bukky Harthoorn, a modern working mom with a heart of gold. Originally from Nigeria, Bukky has made Baton Rouge her home for over 15 years. By day, she’s a project development supervisor at ExxonMobil. While she loves chemical engineering, her true passion lies in family and community. Alongside her husband, James, and their five children, Bukky is a regular attendee of Community Bible Church and volunteers regularly at a local assisted living facility, spreading joy wherever she goes. Their family story took an exciting turn with the adoption of their youngest son, Benjamin–a testament of the family’s love and devotion. Whether Bukky’s cooking up a storm in the kitchen, cheering her kids on at sports events, or enjoying to their animals, Bukky’s warmth and kindness shine through in everything she does.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE DAY?
BUKKY: Coming home and spending time with my family, going on a nice walk with a kid or my husband.
WHAT DOES A NORMAL DAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
BUKKY: Come to work in the morning, lots of meetings and coordination, get home by 6 p.m., help with getting everyone ready for dinner, clean up, hangout with the family, bedtime, and sometimes I work a little after dinner.
WHAT’S A COMMON CHARACTERISTIC IN YOUR WORK ETHIC AND PARENTING?
BUKKY: I am a go-getter. I like to go do it and get it done.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE JOYS AND CHALLENGES OF BEING A MOM?
BUKKY: Growing and learning, watching the children have fun. Maturing and being able to see them grow in maturity. Some challenges would be kids bickering. We are trying to do life together and it can be exhausting dealing with arguing–imagine five kids talking at once. Having time to spend with each child and being intentional with my five kids individually is also a challenge.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PARENTING STYLE?
BUKKY: I am originally from Nigeria and a culture where respect is big. With this context, I demand respect. We try. The expectation is that we try. We work hard to have the time for other things. We want to be able to thrive and instill things into our kids that they need as adults.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO AS A FAMILY?
BUKKY: Checkers, UNO, card games. We love to play games. We like to play tractors. We’re an outside family. Our kids like to play in the pond and climb trees in the backyard. We have turkeys and geese, and baby ducklings, and my children enjoy playing with the outside animals. We also have parrots and dogs.
HOW ARE YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN ALIKE AND DIFFERENT?
BUKKY: It depends on the kid. My littlest is a definite go-getter–I can see myself in her in that space. The older two like math, and I love math. My girls like to bake. They love to read, and I love to read. We are very avid readers in our family.
WHAT’S SOMETHING YOUR CHILD HAS TAUGHT YOU ABOUT YOURSELF?
BUKKY: Patience. I am not as patient as I think I am. They teach me about plants, animals, and history. The rest of my kids teach me how to improve on being patient and gracious.
WHAT’S ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE VACATION SPOTS?
BUKKY: The beach. Florida, 30A area. Singapore and Malaysian islands.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DATE NIGHT WITH YOUR HUSBAND?
BUKKY: We just like to go somewhere quiet for dinner without five kids interrupting.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS ONE OF THE KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL PARENTING?
BUKKY: Prayer and asking the Lord for guidance, protection, and wisdom to raise the children well.
DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR OTHER PARENTS?
BUKKY: Make the time to have conversations with your kids. Get to know them and process life.
ANY ADVICE FOR OTHER MOMS WHO ARE ALSO ENGINEERS?
BUKKY: Let your kids understand what you do. Bring them to work if you can and introduce them to your work. It’s important your kids have an appreciation for what you’re doing. All they see is that mommy is busy and has a lot of meetings. We’re problem solvers. It’s good to show them your work and what you do and experience it.
Q&A
I can’t stop watching…my kids playing in the yard.
I love singing along to…worship music and Nigerian pop.
My favorite dessert is…dark chocolate. And I love cake. My favorite cake is berry chantilly cake. I also love bread pudding.
My favorite food is…Indian food and Nigerian food. I love Thai food, too. Spicy is key.
My favorite holiday is…Christmas.
My guilty pleasure is…Jane Austen books.
My favorite book is…Jane Eyre.
