MBA student Eleana Johnson was awarded a scholarship from the local Twin Cities chapter of the National Black MBA Association. Applicants were evaluated on career aspirations, G.P.A., activities, a written essay and work experience. A native of Minneapolis, Johnson attended Alabama State University, where she served as president of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity and was a member of theNational Association of Black Accountants and the American Marketing Association. She graduated in 2001 with a B.S. in accounting and began her career with PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she is senior auditor in the assurance practice. When she is not working, she is active in her church, volunteers for various organizations and is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. After graduating with an M.B.A. with a concentration in entrepreneurship and marketing, she plans to become abusiness owner and a program director for a Fortune 100 foundation.
MBA student Olufemi (Femi) Bankole Ijadimbola received the 2008 Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity scholarship. Ijadimbola graduated with honors from the University of Lagos in Nigeria with a bachelor’s degree in insurance and business administration. In Nigeria, he worked with two of the largest banks of the country – Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Access Bank Plc. At Guaranty Trust Bank he was a member of the strategic planning committee that established the bank’s 10- to20-year strategy. From 2001, Ijadimbola began working for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in Minnesota. In 2005, he became a mortgage consultant for the company and was named top mortgage sales consultant for two consecutive years. Also in 2005, he founded his own mortgage consulting firm, Gold Mortgage Services, where he has consistently maintained an average annual sales volume over $20 million. Married with two children, he chose to pursue his M.B.A. as a means to achieve his goal of heading acorporation that succeeds locally and internationally.
