BREAKING NEWS:
Onyekachi Osuji, Nigerian First Class Graduate Emerges African Home-Coming Queen in American University…Celebrates the virtues of Nigerian Women
*Receives Accolades, Honor in University of Tampa *Runs on Campus: International Radio UT on Spartan Radio
*University of Tampa Student Productions: “The Homecoming Queen has a responsibility to represent UT. Osuji represents the campus as a Spartan Ambassador for Admissions. She’s involved in five campus organizations and has had internships in her major, but likes being an ambassador more than anything else she has done for UT because she gets to meet so many different people”
BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/FOREIGN BUREAU CHIEF, UNITED STATES
HER NAME is Onyekachi Osuji, famously known around Florida as ‘Kachi’, a First-class Nigerian graduate who recently made Nigeria extremely proud in a keenly contested competition in University of Tampa, Florida where she was unanimously chosen as the first African Home-Coming Queen as an outstanding goodwill personality to represent the varsity’s campus being a Spartan Ambassador for admission. Osuji, a highly cerebral lady is involved in five campus organizations and has had internships in her major, but likes being an ambassador more than anything else she has done for UT because she gets to meet so many different people from all walks of life.
This correspondent can assure you that if you are a first-time visitor to University of Tampa, and you stopped over in their admission office, you will certainly come in close contact of this Nigerian pretty damsel whose humility, smile and natural pleasantries would make you applaud the Board and Management of University of Tampa to have chosen her. Her English language expression and written are flawless, while her dentition her impeccable.
No wonder, University of Tampa (UT), Florida,recently elected its first African homecoming queen, Osuji, a senior communications major (who graduated with a First Class recently) and took part in the competition that has further enlarge her horizon of goodwill. Osuji wanted to see if she could win as a Nigerian woman. And she eventually won.
According to UT Students’ Information: “Homecoming queen is the election of a female student to represent the student body of a school at homecoming events. Schools traditionally elect a queen and a king, as well as princes and princesses who serve on the court.”
Elated Osuji, who is on the UT honors’ roll said: “It made a difference in the vision and the thing I was trying to go after, and the history and the boundary I was trying to break… That felt more special than just having a crown on my head.”
Dylan Williams, a senior business management major, one of Osuji’s close friends, who worked with her homecoming campaign said that Osuji’s win is important because international students are a big part of UT’s student population, “Kachi winning is a pivotal moment, and gives a face, a voice, and representation of an African international student and exemplifies diversity at UT.”
On record, Osuji contributes her involvement on campus and her outgoing personality to her win. According to Student Productions, the Homecoming Queen has a responsibility to represent UT. Osuji represents the campus as a Spartan Ambassador for Admissions. She’s involved in five campus organizations and has had internships in her major, but likes being an ambassador more than anything else she has done for UT because she gets to meet so many different people.
Osuji sees he new role as a hobby: “I don’t know how. That’s one job that doesn’t even feel like a job because it comes naturally.” She has also been a tour guide for newly admitted students into UT,her words: “They were like ‘You were my tour guide! You’re awesome! Because of you I came here. Some parents will call and email me to thank me, and it’s so rewarding.”
Besides Admissions, Osuji is the Ambassador for Change for the internal marketing for the Hult Prize, Public Relations executive for ‘She’s the First’, and a member of the National Society for Collegiate Scholars. She has always been interested in leadership: In 11th grade, she got her first opportunity in a position for her school as a “Bell Ringer” managing other students in her dormitory. In 12th grade, she worked coordinating and overseeing sports for her school.
Osuji worked previously as a SPEAR mentor, part of the UT’s Success Scholars Program that tries to encourage success in first-generation and underrepresented college students. Osuji was Williams’ mentor.
William said:“Osuji really made me feel welcome at the university. During my time here she has become one of my best friends and I know we will have a lifelong friendship after our college journey.”
Osuji began her college career at the University of Manchester in England, transferring to UT during her sophomore year. She said the size of UT is one thing that helped her branch out and meet people that she wouldn’t normally. The University of Manchester has over 38,000 students, and Osuji said it was easy for her to fall into a pattern of just speaking to international or Nigerian students on that campus.
Osuji did not feel herself meeting her full potential at the University of Manchester because she was studying law. The major there was a lot of reading, so she changed her major to communications when she transferred to UT. She now has a radio show called International Radio UT on Spartan Radio. Her segment features international students each week, and talks about life in their respective countries versus in the United States. Her first broadcast was a few weeks ago, and she brought a Ghanaian student on air. They ended up having a discussion about Nigerian and Ghanaian food.
Osuji wants to continue her education at UT for graduate school, and is planning on studying either marketing or finance. Her goal is to start two different businesses within a few years of graduating. One, she said, will be a media company that does video, audio, and websites. The other one will be marketing and PR for different companies.
Osuji states: “From an entrepreneurship perspective, you have to be willing and able. But there’s some features that entail, like capital, and stuff like that. But it’s how you build up to that. Like I could start doing another job and start saving up for how I’m going to start my agency.”
For Osuji, bringing people together is one of her hobbies, and she does that now through her radio show and through working for admissions. Osuji believes becoming Homecoming Queen will give her more of a platform to do that.
“Even when I was campaigning, I have met even more people, which I was so grateful about… It’s given me so much of a platform at least to do that much and I hope it will continue to do so as well,”added Osuji.
