Student Spotlight
Making a Mark: Three Obiora-Offor Siblings are Turning Entrepreneurship Into a Family Affair
Criminal justice advocate. Philanthropist. Musician.
The entrepreneurial aspirations of three Obiora-Offor siblings are bound by a common thread: They’ve each learned how to create a business through the Southern Management Leadership Program at the University of Maryland.
“This has helped me gain a better understanding of what entrepreneurship truly means and where that can take me,” said Afomachukwu (Afoma) Obiora-Offor, who expects to graduate in 2024 with a degree in criminology and criminal justice.
The Southern Management Leadership Program provides financial, academic and professional assistance to students who attend either Montgomery College or Prince George’s Community College and then transfer to the University of Maryland. As part of the program, SMLP students earn a minor in Technology Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation, which covers topics such as how to launch and manage start-up ventures, analyze financing options and create a business environment that values innovation.
Since it was created in 2006 by Suzanne and David Hillman, the program has also provided mentorship, networking opportunities and friendship for hundreds of Terps.
Afomachukwu Obiora-Offor learned about the program from her older siblings: Chidumebi (Ebi) Offor ‘20 and Kamsiyonna Obiora-Offor ‘22, who both participated in SMLP during their time on campus.
“Just getting exposed to this large network of people willing to help you because we were a part of this program, and the amount of people that we were exposed to at a very early age—people who would come in and talk to us who are entrepreneurs and small business owners—was incredible,” said Kamsiyonna, who majored in operations management and business analytics. She directly credits SMLP, which helps cultivate networking and internship opportunities among students and alumni, for internship and job leads she has gotten.
Obiora-Offor Siblings pose in front of Marie Mount Hall at the University of Maryland. Photos by Amina Lampkin, Office of Undergraduate Studies
This family represents exactly what SMLP stands for: passion for learning, creative ways to apply the entrepreneurial mindset, and a legacy of fostering community.
-Sara Herald, Director of SMLP
Both she and her brother, who majored in mechanical engineering, currently work at a global IT company. She would one day like to establish an arts nonprofit and he would like to combine what he learned about entrepreneurship with his passion for music.
No matter what he ends up doing, Chidumebi says the skills that he learned in SMLP will be useful: “I think those soft skills—knowing how to communicate, public speaking, networking—will continue to help me.”
Although there are two other siblings in their family who are not Terps, the Obiora-Offor family is well known among SMLP cohorts.
“This family represents exactly what SMLP stands for: passion for learning, creative ways to apply the entrepreneurial mindset, and a legacy of fostering community. They are quick to help their peers and eager to take advantage of all the opportunities the program and alumni network have to offer,” said Sara Herald, Director of SMLP. “Each of them has demonstrated passion for entrepreneurship and dedication to giving back to the local community.”
Working on SMLP’s community service project to create care packages for health care workers, Afomachukwu said, was a particularly inspiring experience: Not only did she get to work on a profoundly meaningful project, she said she learned how to tackle large projects—a skill she knows will come in very handy in the future. “If it seems intimidating or overwhelming, I have the skills and the knowledge now to be able to follow it through,” Afomachukwu said.
In addition to community service, SMLP students attend study groups, social outings and skill-building workshops, all of which help bond the students together in a lasting way.
“The connections we’ve made will never go away,” said Chidumebi. “Not to sound overly dramatic, but … I really could say SMLP has been a life-changing opportunity for us.”
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