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Growing up in Alimosho, a town outside the capital of Lagos state in Nigeria, Joseph Akubondo walked through the city seeing the “amazing diversity” of his country. As a hub for technology and entertainment in Africa, Lagos attracted young entrepreneurs from across the continent, leading to an explosion of growth in Alimosho and other cities in Lagos, where he could see swarms of young entrepreneurs looking for economic opportunities.
It was this economic opportunity that led Akubondo to attend the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in search of an education that would help him achieve his dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.
“In addition to the U of A’s philosophy of putting students first, I chose here because it felt like home,” she said of her choice to attend the U of A. and the city of Fayetteville, consistently ranked as one of the top five places in the country to live, all helped make it easy to decide among the five schools that offered me the perfect ride.
Akubondo has earned a master’s degree in higher education since he was at university and is now eyeing another graduate degree – this time in operations management.
“As a first-generation student, I have been privileged to receive a quality education and I am grateful for all the opportunities I have had so far,” she said. “I believe that good education today can shape the future, and because I love working with young people, I decided to pursue a master’s degree in higher education to better understand the dynamics and complexity of the American higher education system. platform to understand other systems around the world and help students navigate the college process. I hope to use all that I learn in operations management to improve processes, systems, and lead times in a manufacturing company and help the company improve quality. I will work. Confidence.”
After graduation, Akubondo plans to join a technology or manufacturing company to apply his skills in project and operations management, supply chain, process improvement and quality engineering to help optimize company operations. And her long-term goal is to start a nonprofit that helps first-generation students enroll in college and guide them through the college experience.
Overall, Akubondo hopes to help others have the same transformative international education experience that he did.
“Studying internationally has increased my global awareness, given me meaningful international connections with people from all over the world, and gained perspective on ways of social interaction,” she said. “I love being exposed to a new teaching approach that has helped me expand my academic horizons and intellectual capacity. Finally, I love being exposed to culture, food, and the amazing network of friends I’ve made. I love M.”
