Set Up for Success: Chimezie Ebiriekwe
Meet SDSU students and recent graduates whose impressive resumes forecast bright futures.
“To grow you have to put yourself in uncomfortable situations.”
This article is one of five student profiles published in the summer 2017 issue of 360: The Magazine of San Diego State University.
Anywhere he goes on campus, Chimezie Ebiriekwe sees a friend. A brief walk between the bookstore and the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union can become a 10-minute chat fest for the affable fourth-year marketing major, who is frequently stopped by students, faculty, staff and administrators alike.
When he forgets a name, he apologizes and may promise a cup of coffee to someone he repeatedly fails to remember. “I don’t like to spend money,” he jokes, “so I make sure I remember that name.”
Ebiriekwe received more than 60 percent of the student vote to become the 2017-18 Associated Students president. His family originally hails from Nigeria, where relatives followed his campaign on Facebook “sending blessings and a lot of love,” he said.
During freshman year, the 20-year-old Carson, California, native held his first student leadership office as treasurer of the Afrikan Student Union. He admits to a few mistakes on the way to becoming A.S. president, but believes those missteps helped him grow into his current role.
Ebiriekwe has learned that with leadership comes responsibility and the realization that “a lot of people are looking up to you and are inspired by you.”
He has also discovered the payoff to persistence. “If you want to achieve a goal and continually work toward it, you can attain almost anything on this campus,” Ebiriekwe said. “I tell prospective students, if you come here, your life is going to change for the better.”
