To say that Uchechukwu Ike, “Uche” to her friends, is an engaged student is an understatement. Uche will graduate this year with her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in International Business Language and Culture and a minor in Entrepreneurship. She has been accepted into the Master of Science in Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at Boler for Fall 2022, and she was recently selected from a highly competitive applicant pool for a graduate assistant position in the Match-Empower-Learn-Teach (MELT) department of the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion (CSDI).
Uche has served as president of the Black Students in Action (BSA) organization at John Carroll and also as a peer mentor for CSDI where she created a mentoring partnership with first generation college students, students of color, and LGBTQ+ students. In addition, she was a Program Scholar in the Arrupe Scholars Program in which she advocated for marginalized and underrepresented communities across the Cleveland area. Uche will also be a recipient of the 2022 IBLC Service Award for her tireless volunteer work in the Center for Service and Social Action (CSSA), US Together, Inc., and Jesuit Day of Service, among others.
The education and campus experiences at JCU have helped Uche to define her future plans.
“My career path is to become an entrepreneur,” says Uche. “I want to run a business that supports and uplifts diversity and inclusion. I am inspired by the social innovation at companies like Nike, Gymshark, and Adidas, and I hope to create a company that will be able to provide resources for underserved communities and have a positive impact on young, inner-city athletes.”
As an active individual and former athlete, Uche aspires to become a leader in the fitness industry. She believes that pursuing her graduate degree in the M.S. in Innovation and Entrepreneurship program will enable her to improve and refine her business concept and learn the necessary leadership, marketing, strategic and financial planning skills that will facilitate a successful launch.
“Our entrepreneurship classes are experiences where students have to question their assumptions, think creatively, and solve problems,” says Dr. Doan Winkel, Director of the Muldoon Center for Entrepreneurship and the Donnelly School of Leadership & Social Innovation at John Carroll. “Students must master difficult concepts and learn the relationships and many variables that are necessary to build an entrepreneurial mindset. Uche is the perfect storm of 21st century skills and someone who, I believe, will leave quite a mark on the world.”
Dr. Walter Simmons, Associate Dean of Graduate and International Programs at Boler says,