Dr. Aloysius Anyichie, the founder of Loy Excellentia Initiative, has called for the celebration of Africans living in the diaspora as such celebrations reveal that Africans will excel wherever they are
Anyichie made the call during an event organized by the initiative to commemorate Black History Month at Brandon University and Assiniboine Community College, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada recently.
While revealing why he founded the initiative, Anyichie revealed that the problems he encountered as an international student at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver and his award of the best PhD dissertation in Educational Psychology in the whole of Canada in 2019 motivated him to begin the journey.
He said: “Reflecting on my journey as a PhD student, the challenges and opportunities, especially the mentorship experiences and how they shaped the future that I am living today, I thought that it would be wonderful to create opportunities for African/Black Students to be able to gain the support they need to excel.
“I hate seeing someone experiencing a similar challenge I have navigated. That is the spark for the founding of Loy Excellentia Initiative.”
He added that the absence of any specific events for all African students during Black History Month in Brandon contributed to his organizing the event to connect and integrate the students into the community.
He encouraged the students to always remember where they are coming from and urged them to come together as one and be empowered to be successful through the mentorship opportunities
In his address, the Mayor of Brandon, Mayor Fawcett, praised the initiative for giving opportunities to students.
Fawcett said: “Many individuals come here seeking educational opportunities, and what initiatives like Loy Excellentia do is provide a better chance to establish connections…
“It helps students feel comfortable more quickly, giving them someone to talk to and encouraging involvement in the broader community.”
