“Put in the Work: SU Alum Feature

“Ambition and vision for my life, ” Kaycee Ntukogu stated his key motivations. “It’s so easy to get caught up in working everyday, you can get discouraged and forget your end goal.” Born in Nigeria, Kaycee and his family relocated to the United States while he was still young. With success starting early in his career, it has not always been peaches and cream. “Let God carry the wheel and have faith,” Ntukogu said as he pitched advice to undergraduates, “ This stuff isn’t easy and I’m not trying to scare anyone, but you really got to put in the work.”
Currently working as a Territory Sales Lead for Fortune 500 company, Hershey, Ntukogu is a recent 2022 MBA graduate who obtained both his undergrad degree in criminal justice and masters here at Southern. Surprisingly enough, sales was not always Ntukogu’s career route. In fact, because of a professor of his, he was able to dive into another corporate field. “My professor, Dr. Ron Jackson, actually introduced me to Human Resources.” As Ntukogu goes explained his drastic career change, “I probably wouldn’t understand Human Resources if it wasn’t for him.” In Ntukogu’s journey, his professors played a big role in preparing him for his current success. “They would have informational sessions and events with people speaking to the class, which was good to see and hear from an outside source.”
During his time at Southern University, Kaycee was able to make a name for himself as a scholar-athlete. Not only was he granted a football scholarship that was thankfully able to fund his collegiate career and studies, Ntukogu was also the Vice President of the Southern University Society of Human Resources (SHRM). “Networking and doing more than just showing up to class is a big part of success. Sign up for different organizations and career fairs. Career fairs are a great way to showcase yourself while also learning about people in different positions and how they operate. It opens you up to what can be done.”
Securing an internship after his undergrad graduation, Kaycee was relocated for a few months learning the ropes of the corporate world. “The job was given to someone else and I was discouraged but that didn’t stop my faith. I knew just getting my degree was only half the battle.” After starting his master’s program, he then went on to travel to Washington D.C. for his first ever case composition. “I never had done a case before,” Kaycee chuckles and says, “but I still went and was able to see people from different HBCUs which motivated me to keep going.” That motivation paid off as he was then selected as the top masters student for the 2021-2022 academic year for the National Academy of Human Resources.
Ntukogu was blessed enough to receive a job opportunity straight after graduating with his masters. During a career fair here at Southern, Kaycee was offered an interview with Hershey, where he was offered a full time position in November, officially starting his corporate job not even a month after graduation.
As he continues his new journey navigating his way in the corporate world, Ntukogu plans on going to law school in the future and then proceed to dive into mergers and acquisitions where he would be guiding companies on different business transactions. “You’re not always going to start at the top, you have to start somewhere so don’t be discouraged.”