As a designer, Wichita State's website was what caught Oluwasayo Benjamin Adekalu's eye and brought him to Wichita from Nigeria. As a student, he's learned how to hone his creative skills into building marketable products through the College of Innovation and Design.
Oluwasayo is one of more than 2,200 students eligible for spring 2023 graduation. Learn more about his time at Wichita State and what's next for the grad.
Hometown:
Ondo State, Nigeria
Degrees
Master of Innovation Design with a focus on industrial and product design
What made you want to attend Wichita State?
As a designer, the first thing that caught my attention was the website itself, particularly the basketball and innovation-driven highlights. In addition, my chosen major and the affordable tuition and fees were also significant factors that made me choose Wichita State.
How are you feeling leading up to graduation?
I feel excited and more than ready to go back into the real world and utilize all the learning outcomes and advanced skillsets gained during my program to create the best impact possible in my career path.
What has been your biggest challenge as a student, and how did you overcome it?
I would say having to work and school at the same time. Before coming to Wichita State University, I was a freelancer. Because I work across different disciplines as a multidisciplinary designer, it placed a lot of weight on me with my school work when I started my program. But after my first semester, thanks to my Dr. Jeremy Patterson (dean of the College of Innovation and Design), I was able to secure graduate assistant positions that allowed me to have less workload, and it worked perfectly with my class schedule and helped me sustain myself during the program. Due to this, I was able to decrease my freelance work and focus more on my schooling and the GA position.
What has been your most helpful learning experience at Wichita State?
The most helpful learning experience for me would be during my final project and Innovation in Practice hours, which were supervised by Professor Doug Stucky. I learned a lot about business from a whole new perspective, creating impactful documentation and presentation to use for investors, and also selling myself effectively as an expert. Professor Stucky walked me through the stages of sparking up an idea and turning it into a real business that can get me started in life as an entrepreneur.
What are your plans after graduation?
My plan is to seek full-time employment after graduation and hopefully start a business in the near future.
What advice would you give other Wichita State students?
Explore as much as you can and try out new things. Have fun and enjoy college life. And most importantly, take advantage of as many of the resources, facilities and awesome faculty the university has and make the very best of your time at the university.
About Wichita State University
Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling almost 22,000 students between its main campus and WSU Tech, including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.
Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.
The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.
For more information, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wichitastate and Facebook at www.facebook.com/wichita.state.
