Fortune Onwuzuruike received the 2017 Nell Hamilton Trotter Student Leadership Award at the Georgia State University spring undergraduate commencement ceremony this week. The award, named for Georgia State’s first dean of women, recognizes the student’s outstanding commitment to student involvement and is the highest student leadership award presented by the university.
Onwuzuruike, who received his Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree in Health Informatics, made the dean’s list every semester during his college years. An all-around student leader, he served as a 1913 Ambassador in the university’s student ambassador corps, worked as a Georgia State Welcome Center tour guide and a peer mentor in the Summer Success Academy. Also, Onwuzuruike was president of the Piedmont North Hall Council and completed the Panther LEAP program in preparation for leadership positions in University Housing.
As a junior, Onwuzuruike was elected vice-president of student services for the Student Government Association (SGA). During his tenure, he developed the commuter student meal plan and implemented shuttles to nearby grocery stores for residential students.
In the spring of 2016, Onwuzuruike became the first SGA president in the consolidated Georgia State University/Georgia Perimeter College, serving a 50,000 plus member student body. As president, he sponsored a measure to provide live streaming of SGA meetings to bring all the campuses together, eliminating the burden of travel across metro Atlanta. Before his election to the top SGA position, he represented the Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing and Health Professions as a senator.
Other programs at Georgia State also contributed to Onwuzuruike’s student life. He is a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., the African Students Association, and Tighter Grip. He was named Homecoming Prince during his sophomore year.
After graduation, Onwuzuruike joins WellStar Health System, the largest health system in Georgia, in the information systems department. He plans to return to Georgia State to earn the dual MBA/MHA degree as his ultimate career goal is a position in health administration. He believes his degree in health informatics helps with that goal.