Loqui Awardees

Nduka Nwankwo was born in San Francisco, California, and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. As an Economics major and creative writing minor, Nduka began taking classes in financial markets and mathematics, encouraging his vision of one day serving as a finance liaison between Nigeria and the rest of the world. Nduka has worked in the Housing and Residence Life community as a spiritual life advisor and a resident advisor. As a student leader, he has worked in a variety of departments at Pepperdine including: the Career Center, Student Employment, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Inter-Club Council, Special Programs, the Office of Community Standards, and Church Relations. He has also served on the executive board for the Black Student Association for two years in the role of vice president, finance. In this role, Nduka created a funding strategy that both maximized the club's financial resources and established new funding partnerships. Nduka has accepted a full-time position with Goldman Sachs as a credit analyst in their Credit Risk Management and Advisory Division. His long-term goal is to bring more sophisticated financial products to emerging markets and developing countries.

Sarah Poblete was born and raised in Southern California and has had a heart for serving others since childhood. At a young age, she volunteered in community clinics and shelters with her local church, which influenced her to pursue a career where she could merge her passion for nutrition and serving the underserved. As a nutritional science major, she has completed the first steps in becoming a registered dietitian and hopes to become an advocate for alleviating food insecurity and health disparities among minorities. Aside from her academics, Sarah has actively served as a spiritual life advisor for Housing and Residence Life and has used this opportunity to mentor and educate first-year students. As cofounder and president of the Pepperdine Filipino Club for four years, Sarah has strived to promote Filipino culture through entertainment, education, and service on campus. In the fall, she will be attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo to complete a dietetic internship and in the future, she hopes to work in the area of public health nutrition.

Adrian Aurrecoechea was born and raised in South Florida where he learned about his American culture, his mother's Dominican culture, and his father's Cuban culture. Adrian has volunteered in Miami and Santo Domingo as a medical technician, and interned in a low-income suburb of Philadelphia to research predictors of infection progress. He has also majored in International Studies with an emphasis in Intercultural communication, taught English to Malibu migrant workers and children in rural Dominican Republic, encouraged conversation and action related to the Middle East at Pepperdine, wrote his senior thesis on the Future of Medical Travel between the US and Cuba, and spread awareness of HIV prevention and support to the Los Angeles Native American community. Next year he will be attending University of California in San Francisco in pursuit of a combined MD degree with a Masters in Public Health. He hopes to teach as a physician in an emergency room and make a positive impact on public health nationally and internationally.

Oloruntobi "IBK" Jaiyeola was born and raised in the city of Lagos, Nigeria where she began her journey of faith and diversity. As an Integrated Marketing Communication major, IBK began taking classes in media and communications, encouraging her vision of using media to understand and influence cultures. IBK has worked in the Housing and Residence Life community as a Spiritual Life Advisor and a Residence Advisor. She has had the opportunity to study abroad in India, where she learned about the five major religions of the nation; Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism and Islam. In her capacity as the group's President, IBK rebranded the organization and created the conceptual definition of "connect, educate, and celebrate." Next year, she will be attending American University to pursue a Masters in International Media. She hopes to continue to travel and impact the world, especially the African continent. Her long-term goal is to establish a media marketing company in West Africa, and create effective integrated marketing communication strategies for businesses and organizations in the region.