Better Together

The importance of community and camaraderie cannot be overstated.

Our search for community, and the high value we place on it, led both of us to Anderson, and to our positions as co-presidents of the Black Business Students Association. For Nkem, it was the support she felt, as a new admit, coming to campus during a six-hour layover in L.A. and being embraced and shown around by Anderson students on short notice. For Jeffrey, it was the mentorship he received from fellow students and the exposure to alumni that helped him shape and articulate his goals more clearly than he had ever before.

When we assumed leadership of BBSA, we agreed to heighten the club’s involvement in admission-related programming, establish a strong, tightly knit Black community, and lean in to supportive cross-club and cross-campus collaborations.

Being a Black student at Anderson comes with responsibility as well as opportunity. By supporting events for prospective students — whether the Embracing Diversity conference or Access Anderson — we helped generate the interest among prospects that increased our Black community’s representation in the Class of 2025 by more than 100%. We continue the push to outperform that number by offering interview prep and application review opportunities to Class of 2026 applicants.

BBSA has produced programming in partnership with four different schools, including two fellow professional schools on UCLA’s campus and two other MBA programs at institutions in Los Angeles. Offering varied opportunities for our community to be unapologetically ourselves, we have hosted events that include a club cookout, a welcome-to-campus brunch, a multi-school yacht party and a cross-program holiday celebration. And we created our Black History Month programming in collaboration with 10 other student organizations.

As BBSA leadership prepares for Black History Month, with plans for both professional and social programming, we’re excited to highlight the extraordinary value and contributions our community has made and will continue to make at Anderson and beyond. From panel discussions with professionals in the entertainment, social impact and financial fields to inclusive events that remind all attendees of the greatness and fun that come from fully embracing diversity, we hold strong to our 2024 theme of Better Together.

This theme embodies several core concepts:

1. INCLUSIVITY: We as an Anderson community are better when all members are fully embraced, included and respected.
2. COLLABORATION: What we can accomplish when diverse school clubs work together will always exceed what can be done on an individual level.
3. SUPPORT: The Black community is stronger when we stand united with each other, share resources and continue to showcase the magic that persists within our community amid changing landscapes.

Nkemdilim Chukwuma led UCLA Anderson’s award-winning Net Impact chapter to Gold status. Jeffrey Sullivan has assumed several club leadership roles that bridge the business and creative sides of the entertainment industry. Chukwuma and Sullivan are co-presidents of UCLA Anderson’s Black Business Students Association.