2015 Valedictorian to Join Prestigious National Accounting Firm

By Shelley Mix

When Oluchukwu Agu stepped to the lectern today, his mother got quite a surprise. Until that moment, Agu kept a big secret: he is Lincoln University’s 2015 valedictorian.

“She’s only going to be mad for two minutes; then she will be happy,” Agu said with a laugh prior to Commencement, adding it was an early Mother’s Day gift.

His mom, a nurse, will be joined by — among other extended family — his older sister, who graduated from Howard University in 2014, and his younger sister, who is choosing now whether to attend Lincoln or elsewhere. If Agu has anything to do with it, she will choose Lincoln.

Choosing Lincoln
Agu chose Lincoln, he said, because of the sense of family of students, faculty and staff, and perhaps just as importantly, because of finances.

“More than a lot of other schools, HBCUs care about financing your education,” Agu said.

One-hundred percent of Agu’s tuition and room/board costs are funded through Lincoln’s 21st Century Scholarship.

Agu, who came to the United States from Nigeria at the end of his tenth grade year, first heard of Lincoln from his high school social studies teacher, Odetta Thompson, who graduated from Lincoln in 1997.

She encouraged him to choose an HBCU, specifically Lincoln, and once he visited, he knew it was the place he wanted to spend his next four years

Life at Lincoln
Agu graduates today having earned a 4.0 grade point average as a double major in computer science and accounting.

“As we often look for ways to motivate our students to do their best, it is inspirational to have an exemplary student like Oluchukwu who is able to motivate his teachers to do better by his curiosity to want to learn more,” said Ali Barimani, Agu’s academic advisor and an assistant professor of computer science.

Kennie Edwards, Agu’s academic advisor and accounting professor said he “inspires others to reach higher and accomplish more.”

“Mr. Agu has demonstrated the epitome of leadership through his academic, social, and professional accomplishments,” Edwards said.

While at Lincoln, Agu served as parliamentarian for Pi Kappa Delta Debate Honors Society and treasurer of the National Association of Black. He is also a member of the Horace Mann Bond Honors Program.

Receiving the Valedictorian News
Agu received a call from Dr. Juliana Mosley, vice president for student affairs, just last week, and the call started out “more like a conversation,” according to Agu. Mosley and Agu have worked together often since Mosley’s arrival on campus in October. Getting the call from Mosley was not unusual, until she mentioned that he was valedictorian.

“I kind of hoped [the announcement] was coming,” Agu said.
He said he had an inkling that he was in the running for valedictorian because of his high number of credits — he graduates with 178 credits; 19 from high school and 159 from Lincoln –all of which are A’s. Since he was informed that he would be asked to speech at the commencement ceremony, it has been a whirlwind of activities, including preparing his remarks.

In writing his remarks he thought about everyone who has helped him get to the graduation finish line.

“I think for me it was about looking back at who has helped us and how we can apply that to our future,” Agu said. “We think a lot about ourselves at this age. I’m looking at who has helped us and how we should lead the next generation. “

Future Plans
Agu has an accounting position with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP waiting for him in their Baltimore office. It will be a familiar company; He’s already interned with the company in their Philadelphia office three times.

While he doesn’t plan to start until August, he doesn’t plan on taking time off to celebrate his achievements before jumping into full-time employment. He will stay busy this summer preparing to take the test to become a Certified Public Accountant.

“I’ve got my books and everything, but haven’t started studying yet,” Agu said. “My family is planning to go to Canada for a week but other than that week, I’ll probably be studying.”

Source: http://www.lincoln.edu/