Atlas Corps celebrates its 15th anniversary! It is time to celebrate the achievements of our amazing network of over 1,100 leaders from 110 countries and share stories on the global impact of our Alumni, Fellows, and Scholars.

Today we speak with our Alum Ikenna (Class 36, Nigeria). Returning home with the knowledge gained while serving as an Atlas Corps Fellow at Making Cents International in Washington DC, Ikenna joined Connoisseur Consults, a nonprofit organization helping young people in Nigeria identify their career paths.

Thank you, Ikenna, for contributing to local youth development efforts in Nigeria through Connoisseur Consults. We appreciate learning about your youth engagement work and your personal and professional growth. We wish you the best with this impactful work!


Name: Ikenna Chidiebere Anyadike

Home Country: Nigeria

Current Organization: Connoisseur Consults

Role at current organization: Chief Vision Officer

Social Issues that you have worked with: Good health and well-being, and Quality education.

 

Tell us about projects you have worked on?

I am responsible for overseeing the organization’s day-to-day management and building new partnerships, negotiating, and closing deals. I equally take the lead on facilitating workshop sessions for our new project, PROJECT B.O.L.D, a sexual violence and bullying prevention program for adolescents. A few of the projects I took the lead on include BYB=X, PROJECT D3-X, and #LiveOutLoud!, all of which were targeted at helping young people identify career paths and personality gifting to use the same to ultimately make decisions of where to channel their creative abilities after school.

Ikenna after a PROJECT BOLD Taster Session for a high school in Abuja

Why is it important for you to work with youth development projects?

I believe that for a society to get it right in the long run, the next generation has to be consciously accounted for in terms of building and shaping them in the direction the society desires to grow in. Based on this, the bulk of my work focuses on preparing the next generation of Nigerians and equipping them with the right mentality, awareness, skills, and thinking needed to set them firmly on the path of progress for themselves and the nation overall. This is the reason for my passionate drive for youth development and meaningful engagement.

How has Atlas Corps contributed to your professional and personal accomplishments?

My Atlas Corps Fellowship experience was a major platform for me to learn firsthand how organizations run in a thriving environment. I served for 14 months with Making Cents International as the Knowledge Management, Communication, and Engagement Fellow for YouthLead, a USAID-funded YouthPower Learning project platform. While with the team, I was opportune to see firsthand how solutions (projects) are created, designed, and implemented with predictable results. The model(s) I picked up while on the Fellowship is currently part of my organization’s overall implementation strategy.

Ikenna with team YouthPower Learning at the YouthPower Learning Annual meeting

What is your favorite Atlas Corps memory?

My favorite memory was the karaoke night after the first day of my first Global Leadership Lab experience. The convivial atmosphere was simply beautiful as Fellows and staff let their hair down and had quality fun. In that, I saw our common humanity and simplicity on display.

What advice do you have for applicants and current Fellows?

The major advice I will give is for them to come with an open mind to learn. New Fellows need to come into the Fellowship, especially to host organizations willing to learn how things are done differently.

On the left is Ikenna during a PROJECT BOLD Taster Session for a high school in Abuja. On the right is Ikenna with YouthLead Team at the 2019 MWF Conference

What message would you like to send to individuals who support Atlas Corps?

My message is simple, “Keep supporting Atlas Corps because the ripple effects go way beyond the US. Alumni are actually creating meaningful impact in their home countries because of the experiences learned on the Fellowship.”


Celebrate Atlas Corps Bonus Day! Donations matched on July 14!

Celebrate 15 years of global impact with Atlas Corps! Join us on July 14 to recognize this milestone anniversary and partner with our community of 1,100 social change leaders from 110 countries. Support Atlas Corps and empower our global community of changemakers who possess the training, skills, and network to solve the world’s most pressing issues. Will you make your #GlobalImpact with Atlas Corps?


 Photos from the personal archive of Ikenna Chidiebere Anyadike