First Day of (B) School: Aku Acquaye

Today marks the first day of the Fall Quarter and we’re thrilled to welcome returning and incoming students back to campus. In this series, we’re introducing members of the newest class as they share with us a little about their background, why they came to Kellogg and what they’re looking forward to this quarter.

Aku Acquaye (MMM 2023) answers our questions!

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a South Florida native and proud graduate of Barnard College of Columbia University, where I studied political economics. I am currently a first-year MMM candidate pursuing a dual MBA and MS degree in design innovation from the Segal Design Institute at the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University.

I aspire to work at the intersection of technology, design, and sustainability and plan on pivoting into innovation and design consulting. Outside of classes, I enjoy reading memoirs, taking hot yoga and boxing classes, and watching dating reality tv shows.

What’s a fun fact about yourself? 

Passionate about advancing the careers of young adults of color, I spend my free time leading a multi-media platform known as Young, Gifted, & Non-Dominant (YG&N). YG&N connects diversity opportunities in business, finance, government/public policy, social justice, academia, STEM, and other fields to undergraduate students of color. Last summer, I co-hosted YG&N’s first professional development webinar series attended by 250+ college students and postgraduates from the U.S., Colombia, Spain, Ghana, and Nigeria.

What did you do before coming to Kellogg?

Prior to Kellogg, I conducted market research as an associate client manager at Nielsen for global CPG companies.

Why did you decide to come to Kellogg?

I was drawn to Kellogg for several reasons: their high impact, low ego culture; their mission to develop empathetic, purpose-driven leaders; their responsive network of alumni; the breadth of courses offered via the technology management and sustainability pathways; and, most importantly, the opportunity to develop the skill set necessary to pivot into innovation and design consulting through the coursework offered by the MMM Program.

What are you most excited about in the first quarter?

This quarter I’m most excited about taking Research-Design-Build, a hands-on studio class that focuses on practicing key concepts of human-centered design, including conducting ethnographic research, storyboarding, and rapid prototyping.