Sheila originally hails from the West African State of Nigeria where she attended the prestigious Loyola Jesuit College in Abuja. In 2010, an outspoken and ambitious Sheila joined the African Leadership Academy where she was a very active member of the community. While at ALA, Sheila furthered her passion for the arts; leading the school choir and choreographing and participating in the dance club.
During her time at the Academy, Sheila used her passion for the arts to help underprivileged girls in South Africa by starting EmoArt; an afterschool program which seeks to help girls between the ages of 12 and 20 overcome social issues such as discrimination and disempowerment.
After ALA, Sheila went on to Amherst College in the United States where she is currently pursuing theater, dance and international relations. Using the arts as a medium, her dream is to one day change mindsets and help transform the continent. At Amherst, Sheila also participated as a speaker in the independently organized TEDx Talks.
This bright, young woman also participated in the Three Dot Dash summit in 2013 – an initiative started by the We Are Family Foundation to recognize and support the efforts of young leaders around the world. In 2014, during her summer break, she ran a summer camp for disadvantaged youth in Johannesburg teaching life and leadership skills. She also collaborated with Ernst & Young to run an annual boot camp for 2 years based on her EmoArt curriculum.
In addition, Sheila was invited to a high profile writing workshop organized by the highly acclaimed Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie and Kenyan native and 2014 TIME 100 “Most Influential People in the World”, Binyavanga Wainana.
Sheila also continues to develop herself professionally; she has completed three successful internships in both the corporate sphere and the nonprofit sector. She has interned with General Electric Africa, Chocolate City and Enough is Enough Nigeria.
In an interview with Answer Sheet, an education blog hosted by the Washington Post, when asked about her return to Africa Sheila responded: “We don’t need encouragement. It’s what we want to do anyway”, showing that she is more than ready to come back to the continent to continue the commendable work she has begun.
