The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Employment and Training Institute recently released a report entitled, “Wisconsin Mass Incarceration of African-American Males: Workforce Challenges for 2013” stated: “two-thirds of the county’s incarcerated African-American men came from 6 zip codes in Milwaukee.”
Uwakwe Omegbu grew up in one of those “zip codes with the highest concentration of released and incarcerated ex-offenders.” But, he Overcame the Odds.
- He set a goal.
- He worked to reach the goal.
- He met the goal
Uwakwe Accomplished His Mission.
He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on May 19, 2013 earning a Bachelors of Science Degree with a:
- Major in Mechanical Engineering; and
- Minor in Computer Science
I first met Uwakwe when he was a 13-years-old middle school student. We hired him to work in our family owned medical practice through a Youth Outreach Program. Working on Saturday mornings picking up paper around our large parking lot, Uwakwe showed up every Saturday whether rain, sleet, or snow to do his job.
By his sophomore year in high school, he had worked his way up to office related tasks and assisting with maintaining our network of computers and servers.
Once in college, internships and trainee opportunities opened up new doors for Uwakwe related to his long-term professional goals.
- Internship, Web/Graphic Design, Prism Technical
- Research Assistant, School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Research Assistant, Nanotechnology, College of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Internship, Business Process and Technology, S.C. Johnson
Throughout the college years, Uwakwe was always available to help with special projects and assignments at our medical facility.
When I asked Uwakwe how he Overcame the Odds, he quickly answered:
- Having Faith in God
- Family Support
- Extracurricular Activities
I am extremely grateful to have been a part of this outstanding young man’s life from his middle school days to college graduation.
Congratulations Uwakwe Omegbu you, undeniably, Overcame the Odds.
SeasonedSistah 
This is wonderful! thanks for posting!
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Thank you Jane. He is a remarkable young man.
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Congratulations Uwakwe!! You are such an inspiration and are proof that our young men can overcome adversity if they just perservere.
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Thank you for your comments. I will make certainly share with Uwakwe. Indeed, he is a shining light in times where there is so much negativity in the media about our young Black men. In my limited way, I wanted to present a different picture by sharing his story with my Blog followers, family and friends.
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Great blog
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Thank you so much. I love spending time writing this blog. It is a detraction and helps me to control and manage my “chronic pain”. The same as painting resin figurines did years back. You bought me my first resin pieces and paint — encouraging me to try. You were right my pain lessened when I painted. I pray my blog writing skills improve as time goes by as was the case with painting.
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