Faces of Philanthropy

Priscilla Okolie

 

For Priscilla Okolie, who arrived in the United States from Nigeria as an infant, family and community are everything.

The middle child of a close-knit family, Priscilla grew up in San Antonio with her parents and two sisters and attended Health Careers High School before entering UTSA, where she is a junior majoring in public health and looking to law school in the future.

Though her dream is to become a writer of young adult fiction, “more realistically, I want to become an attorney,” she said. “I want to help people. I want to advocate for them. I really have a passion for helping people and making sure that their voices are amplified, making sure that people speak up for themselves.”

That goal has been a driving force in her involvement at UTSA since her freshman year.

“When I first got here, I wanted to make sure that I was involved in the Black community as much as possible,” she recalled. “I realized that I could be a voice for my community, so I joined the Black Student Union. And more than that, I tried to create an environment for Black students to find their home and to connect to the greater UTSA.”

As the current, and very active, president of the Black Student Union (which she calls “my baby”), she has led fundraising efforts to support initiatives to help black students “have a more robust academic experience at UTSA.”

“The BSU did advertising and general awareness outreach to the community to make sure that everyone knew about the initiatives and what they would do for students,” she said. “It was also important that everybody knew that the fundraising efforts were being conducted by students, for students.”

With that same fervor, Priscilla is encouraging UTSA’s Black alumni to become a part of UTSA Giving Day 2021. “It’s really just understanding who they’re giving to – it’s students. We are their legacy, and it’s important to make sure that they highlight and amplify that legacy – and protect it.”

She also hopes that the alumni remember what it was like to be a student and how they might have wished that somebody could have helped them. “I encourage them to give money,” she said, “but if they can’t do money, give time and awareness. I really do encourage them to do that.”