Ebuka Okoli, M.S. ’24, has always been fascinated by cross-cultural communication and how diverse groups of people communicate in an organizational context. It’s for this reason he moved over 6,000 miles from Nigeria to Normal to pursue a master’s in communication at Illinois State University.

… Okoli’s professional work in Nigeria centered around helping the government draft organizational goals in relation to employee roles and strategic planning. Through this work, he noticed gaps in organizations effectively communicating their goals to employees.

“I’m from a multicultural country, and I am familiar with the concept of how messages can be either gained or lost, depending on who carries the message and how it is delivered,” said Okoli. “Looking at the U.S., the most multicultural country in the world, there are organizations who have diverse people, and how you communicate to them would not necessarily be in a general way.”

Witnessing these communication issues in the workplace led Okoli to furthering his education to learn more about how he can be the problem-solver in these situations.

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