02/10/2026
Former President Barack Obama recently told his 41 million Instagram followers what many people at SUNY Cortland already know to be true.
Ikenna Okoye offers hope a brighter future.
Okoye, a sophomore physical education major from Uniondale, N.Y., was the central focus of a Feb. 6 social media post from the former U.S. president highlighting the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Alliance. He’s one of 18 young ambassadors from across the country working to improve their home communities through service and mentorship, focusing primarily on boys and young men of color.
“I am often asked what gives me hope — my answer is always the same,” Obama’s social media caption read. “The young people I work with through the Obama Foundation are doing the work in their communities to make this world a better, more inclusive place.”
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The post describes Okoye as a positive role model, notes his SUNY Cortland ties and credits his work to help elementary school students learn to read. He’s pictured with a beaming smile during a 2025 meeting of MBK Alliance ambassadors in Washington, D.C., where the group first met the former president. An accompanying 45-second video clip shows Okoye speaking from the heart about the importance of reading at grade level by third grade, one of the six key learning milestones that guides the MBK Alliance.
He recorded the video in his residence hall room early in the spring semester at the request of a mentor with the Obama Foundation, not knowing for certain how or when it would be used. Obama, of course, is widely considered a transformational U.S. president and one of the world’s most influential figures on social media. The recent post saw more than 100,000 likes on Instagram alone.
“I just wanted to make it as authentic as possible,” said Okoye, who is a member of the university’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), Cortland’s Urban Recruitment of Educators (C.U.R.E.) and several other clubs and initiatives focused on celebrating diversity in the campus community.
“Ikenna’s the real deal,” said Kharmen Wingard M ’11, assistant director for EOP and a mentor to Okoye. “It doesn’t matter what he’s doing — he could be in the classroom, the gym or in a school community — he’s always trying to lift up those around him. It’s extraordinary but not at all surprising that he earned the praise of President Obama, one of our generation’s most respected voices.”
Okoye and other MBK Alliance ambassadors met Obama at the end of a weeklong mentorship experience in June. The group shared an intimate conversation, which Okoye described as powerful.
“I never imagined I’d be in a position where I’m sitting in the same room as the former president,” he said.
A Renaissance man of sorts, Okoye said he strives for authenticity in all that he does. He enjoys photography. He stays active through sports, having competed in wrestling and lacrosse in high school and still training through boxing. And then there’s reading, which shaped his earliest childhood memories at Grand Avenue Elementary School in Uniondale.
Okoye remembers coming home from school with summer reading assignments and attempting to finish them quickly, only for his father to suggest new ones.
“He’d always have another book ready waiting for me,” Okoye said. “But that just allowed me to grow and realize the importance of my education.”
One of four children, Okoye credited his parents, Jonathan and Vanessa, for laying a foundation rooted in faith and education. In his church, Abundant Life Christian Center in Hempstead, N.Y., he found community. In school, he often gravitated to English Language Arts classes and the creative expression they offered. Reading helped raise his confidence.
“I found that the more I read, the better I could navigate my own mind,” said Okoye, explaining the motivation for his MBK Alliance ambassadorship, which he initially pursued as a senior in high school. “It wasn’t just about the books. It was about building the tools to articulate myself.”
Okoye speaks with pride when talking about his hometown of Uniondale, but he said he wants young men there to know that excelling in sports or being the loudest voice in a room aren’t their only ways to earn attention.
“Don’t be afraid to stand out and get involved in different ways,” Okoye said, recalling his advice as a mentor. “Actions always speak louder than words.”
He repeats that to himself daily, even in his second year at SUNY Cortland. He learned about the campus and its reputation in physical education through his wrestling coaches at Uniondale High School, Tim Godoy ’95 and Andre Berry ’15. He credits EOP’s Summer Institute with instilling quality habits such as waking up early, practicing proper nutrition and understanding how to find academic help on campus.
And Okoye continues to find purpose through many outlets: organizations such as SUNY Cortland NAACP and Men of Value and Excellence (M.O.V.E.) as well as C.U.R.E., a highly successful program that prepares student scholars — most from underrepresented backgrounds — to be teachers in high-need schools.
That experience has introduced Okoye to diverse classrooms in the Syracuse City School District. He recalls witnessing a disagreement between two young students and how an effective teacher responded.
“It’s not just about coming to them as a superior,” Okoye said. “But rather a mentor — someone who values their perspective and wants to see them thrive.”
Growth is a common refrain from Okoye — in his personal life, his work with the MBK Alliance and his ambition as a teacher. He’s roughly halfway through the two-year ambassador program supported by the Obama Foundation. As he puts it, his motivation is consistent: to elevate his Uniondale community as a mentor and advocate.
Okoye said he never imagined he would be in a position to meet an iconic U.S. president, someone who he has revered throughout his life. But he said he’ll never forget what he felt in the moments afterwards.
“It just felt like great things are coming.”