My name is Unuma Michael, and I’m currently a first-year student at Hult International Business School in Boston, pursuing a double major in Finance and Marketing. I’m from Rivers State, Nigeria. I attended secondary school in Nigeria at Olashore International School in Osun State then I attended African Leadership Academy for two years.

My ALA Experience

After graduating from Olashore International School, I went on to spend two transformative years at the African Leadership Academy (ALA) in South Africa. ALA was a full shift in how I saw myself and the world.

At ALA, I studied the Cambridge A-Levels, but what made the experience truly unique was the Entrepreneurial Leadership Catalyst program. Alongside our academics, we took classes like Entrepreneurial Leadership, Writing and Rhetoric, Wellness, and African Studies. We also had OMANG, a course that helped us reflect deeply on identity, voice, and purpose.

I first heard about ALA from the former head girl of my high school. She’d gone there a few years before me, and there was already a connection between ALA’s university guidance office and Olashore. At the time, I was serving as head girl and was deeply interested in leadership, so as soon as I learned about the program, I went straight to my school’s university guidance counselor and said, “Tell me more.” He was excited, and he connected me with other Olashore alumni at ALA. That’s how it all began.

The application process was long, but I enjoyed it as it gave me a chance to express who I really was and share my aspirations. And once I got in, I quickly realized ALA wasn’t going to be easy. The workload was intense. Balancing Cambridge A-Levels, our student-run businesses, and entrepreneurial challenges was no small task.

During my time there, I served as Head of Consulting for the African Leadership Consulting Group and founded two student businesses: one that offered West African cuisine and another that focused on personal care services. From importing plantains to South Africa to organizing skincare consultations and offering pedicures and massages, those ventures taught me a lot about customer experience, creativity, and service.

But more than the titles and tasks, ALA gave me the confidence to take up space. It prepared me for the international environment I now thrive in at Hult. Being around brilliant minds from all over Africa pushed me to grow. Yes, there were moments of imposter syndrome, but ALA reminded me that I deserve to be in every room I walk into. It taught me that I have something to offer and that my voice matters.

Why the U.S. and Why Hult

To be honest, I never imagined myself studying in the U.S. All five of my older siblings went to university in the UK, and I always assumed I would do the same. But from the moment I chose to attend the African Leadership Academy, my path started to look different from theirs, and that difference eventually led me here.

While I was at ALA, most of my peers were applying to U.S. universities, but I didn’t apply to many at the time—just a few. I focused more on global opportunities and also submitted applications through UCAS to study in the UK. It wasn’t until after ALA, during my gap year, that I really started considering the U.S. seriously.

That’s when I rediscovered Hult International Business School. I had heard about it before but didn’t know much. One day, I decided to do a deep dive, so I looked up their programs, read about their scholarships, and explored the student experience. Everything about Hult spoke to me: it was international, business-focused, and hands-on. I thrive in international spaces, and after my experience at ALA, I knew I wanted to create value through business and public speaking. Hult offered the environment to do just that.

At ALA, I studied sciences, but through founding my own student-run businesses and leading in consulting, I discovered my passion lay elsewhere. Hult gave me the opportunity to pivot. When I spoke to my university guidance counselor about it, she told me there was a scholarship open and said, “We’d love to recommend you.” That encouragement helped me move forward with the application.

I chose Hult because its values aligned deeply with mine. Hult emphasizes growth, ethics, compassion, and practical learning. Their curriculum includes unique challenges like the Startup Challenge, Social Impact Challenge, and Power & Policy, where you don’t just study—you build, pitch, and analyze real-world ventures. You learn how to create startups, build social enterprises, and assess real businesses from every angle, from finances to sustainability.

I also got into other universities like UCalgary in Canada, Aston University, University of Portsmouth, and the University of Buckingham in the UK, as well as a few U.S. schools including Drexel University, Oral Roberts University, and Elmhurst. But Hult stood out. It wasn’t traditional and that’s exactly what I needed.

My Academics

I graduated from Olashore International School with a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale and from the African Leadership Academy with a 3.42 GPA on a 4.0 scale, which translates to 4.21 on a 5.0 scale.

For my IGCSEs, I earned 3 A*s, 3 As, and 1 B. Due to COVID, I wasn’t able to sit for WASSCE and instead took the NECO SSCE exams, scoring a mix of A’s and B’s. I also took IELTS, and I scored 7.5.

At ALA, I studied Biology, Mathematics, and Chemistry under the Cambridge A-Level curriculum. My A-Level grades weren’t what I hoped for, but I submitted my transcripts, which had a strong cumulative average of around 92 or 93 out of 100, and that was what ultimately strengthened my Hult application.

I also took the SAT, with a superscore in the 1200–1300 range—not my strongest metric, but I made sure to communicate the full picture of my capabilities and contributions beyond test scores.

My Extracurriculars

At the African Leadership Academy, I served as Head of Consulting for the African Leadership Consulting Group (ALCG), where I led strategic projects, trained interns, and co-developed internal systems that helped improve performance. I was previously Co-Head of Training and a Consulting Intern, and worked with clients like Innovation Factory and ALA’s Knitting and African Dance Clubs.

I also founded Ekua’s Cuisine, a Western African food business that introduced familiar flavors like jollof rice and plantain chips to a new environment. Since plantains weren’t locally grown in South Africa, we had to import them, making the logistics just as exciting as the cooking. Alongside that, I ran Unuma’s Beauty Spa & Salon, a mobile self-care business providing foot care, massages, skincare consultations, and hair care for students on campus.

Beyond business, I created Family House International, a global digital community of over 120 young people across Africa, Asia, North and South America. We hosted weekly conversations on topics like spirituality, identity, and personal development.

Creatively, I’ve written and directed plays and pantomimes, performed spoken word poetry, and served as Stage Manager and Playwright in several school productions. I also conducted an ALA-accredited research project titled “Can African Art Be Mental Medicine?” and played volleyball competitively since high school. I was involved in my school choir, dance troupe, and even played traditional instruments like the shekere and flat drums.

I also volunteered as a Leadership Facilitator, served in ALA’s COVID Compliance Committee, helped plan major school events like the Student Life Banquet, and worked as a Student Intern in both the Admissions Office and CEO’s Office at ALA. ​​

I’ve also remained deeply committed to volunteering and community service throughout my journey. In 2022, I served as an Entrepreneurial Leadership and Design Thinking Coach with Star Girls Africa, where I mentored young girls on how to turn their ideas into impact-driven ventures. Earlier on, I contributed to my local community where my secondary school was located through the Iloko-Ijesa Community Development Service Project, where I supported the construction of a town hall fence in 2019. Even before that, in 2018, I volunteered as a Teacher’s Assistant at the Local Authority Primary School in Iloko-Ijesa, where I helped younger students with classroom activities and learning support.

My Honors and Awards

My honors include:

• The Diana Award Recognitions

• Global Social Leaders (GSL) Impact Award

• Students Leadership Accreditation SSAT UK Gold Award 2020

• Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award 2019

• ALA Diploma

• BUILD Certificate in Entrepreneurial Leadership 2021

• Certified in Business Finance – Innovations Factory

• Yale Young African Scholars (YYAS) Alumna 2022

• Playwright & Director, ISA Women’s Day Play on Gender Equality 2019

• AISEN Drama & Singing Competitions

• Public Speaker Award (2016)

• DELF A1 and A2 Certificates in French (Alliance Française)

• Senior School Head Girl & Junior Head Girl at Olashore

• $42,000 Scholarship to Attend ALA 

The Financial Aid

My application to Hult was deeply personal. The scholarship I applied for—The Hult Scholar Grant—was both merit- and need-based, so I took extra care to explain my family’s financial background. I included documents that highlighted my existing scholarship to attend ALA (worth $42,000), and I made sure to explain how the rapid devaluation of the Naira against the Dollar added new financial strain.

I even added details like my passport photo, a small but intentional gesture to show I was visa-ready and committed. My Hult Scholar Grant ultimately covered my full tuition, and being nominated for it by my school made the award even more meaningful.

More than anything, I approached my application with honesty. I didn’t try to make everything perfect; I showed how I had grown through imperfect moments and how I was still learning, even during my gap year. I kept the Hult enrollment team updated regularly, sharing my progress in volunteering, leadership, and personal projects. I believe this consistency, transparency, and storytelling made all the difference.

My Essays

For my personal essay, I wrote about what drew me to business, and for me, it was emotional intelligence. My experiences as Head of Consulting at the African Leadership Consulting Group shaped this realization. I had the opportunity to train interns, lead internal consulting projects, and manage team dynamics in a way that taught me leadership goes beyond strategy—it’s about understanding people.

I explored how emotional intelligence plays a vital role in the workplace, not just in getting things done, but in building healthy, human-centered environments. I reflected on lessons I learned from doing something as simple, yet profound, as giving pedicures through my personal care business at ALA. It was humbling, and it made me realize that body language, hospitality, and kindness could be just as powerful in business as spreadsheets and pitches.

This interest is tied closely to my ALA-accredited creativity research, “Can African Art Be Mental Medicine?”, which deepened my passion for mental wellness in professional spaces. I used these experiences to explain why I initially intended to major in Management, and now plan to pursue a double major in Finance and Marketing at Hult.

For my Hult Scholar Grant application essay, I focused on how my values align with Hult’s. I spoke about my love for storytelling, my passion for leading with compassion, and my desire to create meaningful social and economic impact. I referenced faculty members I hoped to learn from and gave real examples of how I’ve lived out Hult’s values even before stepping on campus.

Writing the scholarship essay took me about two weeks. I didn’t get external feedback on it; I pieced it together myself after working on several other applications. But my personal essay benefited from guidance at ALA. My university guidance counselors and my teacher, Ms. Efua, who taught me Africa Through the Lens (a photography class) gave me detailed feedback, helping me shape it into something that felt honest and compelling.

Life at Hult

Hult International Business School in Boston is relatively new, especially when you compare it to schools like Harvard or MIT that have been around for centuries. But that’s part of what I love about it. It’s small and intimate so you run into familiar faces often, and it’s easier to build genuine relationships. That kind of environment works well for me. I thrive in spaces where I can get to know people deeply and learn from them personally.

What really makes Hult special for me is its international nature. In one day, I might be practicing Spanish with my Mexican classmates, chatting in French with my francophone friends, or sharing okra soup with friends from Vietnam, Senegal, South Africa, and Israel. It’s a daily opportunity to step into different cultures and to share mine in return. I even wear a Kenyan bracelet and say "mambo" to my Kenyan friends; it’s just that kind of place where culture lives and breathes in every conversation.

Adjusting to Hult wasn’t difficult for me, largely because I’d already gone through a cultural transition when I moved from Nigeria to South Africa for ALA. That experience prepared me well for global spaces. By the time I arrived in Boston, I already understood how to listen, reflect, and engage meaningfully with diverse people.

I chose to take my first semester slow, as I wanted to observe, understand my environment, and be intentional about where I placed my energy. Now in my second semester, I’ve begun engaging more actively in student life. I currently serve as the Lead of Communications and Public Relations for the Hult African Business Club, and I’m also the Secretary of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), Hult chapter. I'm a writer and editor for The Courage Boston, our student magazine, and I’ve recently started supporting its marketing efforts as well.

Beyond campus, I volunteer every Thursday as an ambassador for Venture Café Cambridge, a hub for innovators and entrepreneurs connected to the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC). Within Hult, I also serve on the Board of Advisors for the Hult Scholar Society, a community of scholarship recipients like myself.

Balancing all of this with academics has been manageable, thanks to what I learned at ALA. The school’s rigorous schedule taught me effective time management, and I continue to use tools like Trello to stay organized. Hult uses a modular system, so I typically have two classes each morning from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and then 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. I intentionally choose morning classes so I can dedicate the rest of the day to extracurriculars, work, or rest. I also make a habit of doing any assignments on the day they’re given to avoid unnecessary stress.

Making friends at Hult came gradually. I actually missed orientation due to a one-week visa delay, so I arrived after most people had already begun forming groups. But I leaned into my existing community—Nigerians on campus, and especially a friend from ALA who had arrived a year earlier. He welcomed me, helped me get settled, and introduced me to others. October 1st, Nigeria’s Independence Day, brought us together to cook jollof rice and celebrate, and that’s when I began feeling a sense of belonging.

Relationships didn’t always start as close friendships; they often began as simple classroom acquaintances. Over time, I learned to define my relationships, set boundaries, and allow friendships to form naturally. That intentionality has made my social experience richer.

Advice for Others

If you’re applying to university, especially abroad, my biggest piece of advice is this: be proactive and intentional.

When I applied to Hult, I went on LinkedIn and searched for everyone I could find affiliated with the school. I connected with them, introduced myself, and shared my story. I spoke about the work I’d done, from Family House International to my leadership at ALCG to my time at YYAS. I let them know why I felt Hult aligned with my values. And you know what? Many of them remembered me when I arrived on campus. One of the Dubai campus advisors even asked around for me when he visited Boston, saying, “Where’s Unuma? She messaged me on LinkedIn.”

It’s those small acts of courageous connection that set you apart. I was intentional even in my essays. I mentioned specific Hult faculty members I admired, like Matthew Johnson and Imen Ameur, and when I finally met them in person, I told them, “I wrote about you in my essay.” That moment meant a lot to both of us.

I also had an interview for the Hult Scholar Grant, which I had been nominated for by my school. During that interview, I was honest, consistent, and confident. Your essay, your application, and your interviews—they should all reflect the same person. Be authentic.

And when impostor syndrome creeps in, as it sometimes does for me, I remind myself of a quote I live by from Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female president of Liberia: “If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.”

That quote has guided me through uncertainty, through transitions, and into rooms where I might not always feel ready but where I always show up. So, to anyone dreaming big: keep pushing, believe in yourself, and take the initiative. The world needs your voice and your work at the table.