Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: Student Culture

Media Credit: Moreno, Carlos A. (From left to right) Nnamdi Nwaigwe, Nigerian Student Association (NSA) treasurer, Amaju Ekwejunor-Etchie, president, and Obinna Osuka, co-event coordinator/historian, stand in front of the Nigerian flag inside a meeting room at the Student Union on Monday night.

The Nigerian Student Association is an organization at SJSU that allows students to gather and celebrate their culture.

Amaju Ekwejunor-Etchie, a senior finance major, is the president of the association.

"Basically anybody who's open-minded and willing to come and learn about a different culture is welcome to join the association," he said.

The association holds several different social events throughout the year. One of its major events is Culture Day, which is held in the Student Union Ballroom. Culture Day usually takes place in the spring. This time, the club is shooting for the last Saturday of February, Ekwejunor-Etchie said. At some NSA events, members bring food so that people have a chance to taste some different Nigerian dishes.

A few of the association's officers feel very passionate about their organization.

"It means diversity," said Obi Osuka, a senior health science administration major who is the historian and co-event coordinator for the group. "When I first transferred to SJSU, I was told about the association, and I wanted to join it.""

"For the most part I feel like it helps me communicate better," Osuka said. "At first I was kind of shy, and it helped me come out of my shell a little."

Ekwejunor-Etchie said he takes being the president of the Nigerian Student Association very seriously and said that he enjoys the sense of family he gets from the club.

"You feel like you have people you can relate to," he said. "I will say that it's a better means of connecting with people."

Ekwejunor-Etchie also said he thinks joining the club is a good way to meet new people and can help students assimilate into college life.

"The association stands to bring Nigerians, African-Americans and other ethnicities together in the SJSU community in an effort to achieve excellence in school and life, to learn from one another," said Nnamdi Nwaigwe, a junior management information systems major, who is the treasurer of the group. "We are there for each other through the good and the bad."

Continued...

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