Fortune Onwuzuruike, a rising senior in health informatics, was elected president of the Georgia State Student Government Association by a narrow margin. An all-around student leader, Onwuzuruike works as a Georgia State Welcome Center tour guide and a peer mentor in the Summer Success Academy.
He is excited to become president of the nearly 55,000 member student body and sees the role as an opportunity to give health informatics more visibility on campus.
Onwuzuruike says he has always held an interest in health care and technology as well as a strong passion for both health and business. His ultimate career goal is a position in health administration, and he believes a major in health informatics helps with that goal.
“Health informatics is really growing, not just in Georgia but worldwide,” says Onwuzuruike. “There is such an opportunity for growth, and I want to be a part of it.”
Onwuzuruike currently interns with the American Heart Association, a position he found on his own, says health informatics program director Tamara Melton.
A proud member of the 1913 Society, the official Georgia State student ambassador corps that serves university president Mark Becker, Onwuzuruike credits the university with adding so much to his life. His work with the Summer Success Academy is a testament to that gift. The academy, designed to aid struggling students, jump-started his academic life when Onwuzuruike collaborated with his mentor. Following the academy, he earned a 4.0 GPA and was hooked on helping the program that helped him.
Other programs at Georgia State also contributed to Onwuzuruike’s student life. He is a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and was recently named an honoree for the 16th edition Who's Who Black Atlanta.
“Georgia State has given me the best three years of my life,” says Onwuzuruike, explaining his desire to serve the school that has provided him with so much. When asked what drives his passion for student government, he says that politics is a hobby, but the university and his major are his passion. SGA allows him to combine those preoccupations.
Onwuzuruike takes office May 1 and aims to make campus safety his top priority. He wants to work with the campus police to make their presence more visible and help ease student concerns about the recent uptick in crime.
Before his election as president, Onwuzuruike served SGA as vice president of student services and senator for the Lewis School.