A Born Diplomat?

When asked what she planned to do this summer, Chikodi Emerenini smiled. “For the first time in three years, I will do absolutely nothing.” But she followed this with, “I only applied to one internship this summer, and if I get it, I will probably do that.”

Certainly, no one would quibble with her desire for a little down time after a very eventful and successful undergraduate career. A psychology major and CUNY Honors College scholar, the Nigerian-born Emerenini was selected to be the Commencement student speaker. In the fall she will begin studies at George Washington University Law School, where she was offered a full scholarship. (She also received a Geist Scholarship given annually to a QC pre-law student.)

Born in Lagos, Emerenini, whose father is a diplomat posted to the Nigerian Consulate in New York, came with her family to the U.S. in 1998. They settled first in Elmont, Long Island, and later in Queens Village, where she completed her secondary studies at nearby Francis Lewis High School.

While claiming the demanding life of a diplomat holds no immediate appeal for her, Emerenini has amassed experiences ideally suited to a career that requires a good deal of political savvy and people skills.

The past five semesters she served as a peer counselor, where, as well as assisting students with routine matters, such as keeping them abreast of LASAR requirements, she dealt with their personal problems. “Dr. Ruth Frisz trained us to deal with just about anything,” she said. In addition, since her sophomore year, Emerenini volunteered one day each week at mental health facilities such as Creedmore Hospital and the psychiatric ward at Schneider Children’s Hospital.

All these experiences coalesced last summer when she pursued a Rogowsky Internship in Government and Public Affairs, working in the mental health section of the attorney general’s office in Washington, D.C.

This past year Emerenini was elected to the student government, serving as a senator and member of the executive committee. “I love student government,” she said. “Maybe I have false perceptions of other colleges, but I never realized that students make such a difference on this campus.”

With respect to her upcoming law studies, Emerenini has no particular focus in mind: “I’ll be open. I may take courses about things that have affected my life so far, like mental health and immigration and human rights and civil rights. Other than that, we’ll see what happens.”