After earning her bachelor’s degree at the University of Alabama, sprinter Amarachukwu Obi still had NCAA eligibility remaining, and she has used it to continue competing while pursuing an MBA in business analytics and risk management at St. John’s University. The diversity of the St. John’s campus as well as New York City have proven edifying for her personally as she pursued her athletic and academic goals.
“I like how … you can move about the campus, whereas at my previous university you couldn’t walk it on foot, you had to take a bus,” said Obi.
She praised St. John’s director of track and field/cross country Aliann Pompey for building an internationally diverse group of student-athletes. “You keep learning from this culture,” said Obi, who is from Nigeria. “We’ll do a food evening where everyone brings a different food from their own cultures. It’s a learning process. You learn about their traditions.”
Obi found her athletic calling in grade school when she displayed a clear gift for track. By high school, being a student-athlete was her identity and gave her a sense of purpose. Track introduced her to the world as she represented Nigeria at the Commonwealth Games and the All-African Games in the 400 meters and the 4×400 relay. That brought the attention of U.S. college coaches. Over her collegiate career, she’s qualified for the NCAA Championships and won medals at conference championships.
“I believe the United States and NCAA have produced some of the best talents in track and that was a big factor [in coming here for college],” said Obi. “I know track and field is really big here in America, so it’s a dream to do this sport in the United States.”
She completed her NCAA eligibility with this year’s indoor season and now is focused on completing her MBA program and beginning her business career. This summer she will do an internship at Uncharted Ventures, a venture capital firm. Her experiences of traveling for competitions, coming to the U.S. and being a student-athlete have helped her prepare.
“As an international student, you have diverse perspectives and experiences,” Obi said. “Coming to business school, you bring that knowledge into understanding different businesses and how they are able to grow in different nations. You understand that one business model that works in one country may not work in another. When you’re dealing with international business, you have to understand the different strategies needed to succeed.”