The Power of Poetry

Ikenna Ndugba '16 is a Division I collegiate basketball player with aspirations of playing professional basketball next year. He managed to earn both a bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing and a master's degree in business administration and general management during his four years at Bryant University, and is currently pursuing a second bachelor's degree in human services studies at Elon University. Yet he's most proud of his budding non-profit, 617Peak, which provides platforms for youth in Boston to find their voices by sharing their stories through written and spoken forms.

"Everyone has a story to tell. The youth need safe spaces to participate and express themselves artistically, and our open mics allow that. The stories that they're sharing are all important because they are their own," Ndugba says. "And the amount of talent they have — these students who are 13, 15, 17 — is amazing."

Ikenna Ndugba '16 (right) founded the Boston non-profit 617Peak.

Ndugba attended Mission Grammar School and Boston Latin Academy, both academically strong but located in more dangerous pockets of Boston. The schools also drew students from all over the city, increasing Ndugba's awareness of the violence he and some of his classmates witnessed routinely. He subsequently decided to enroll at Brooks for a more conducive environment to focus on his academics and athletics.

It was at Brooks that Ndugba discovered a passion for the arts through his classwork and culminated with his poetry reading for a senior project, shifting his campus image of being "just an athlete."

"Brooks let me tap into the arts and that side of myself, because up until then, I probably was quieter, or standoffish," Ndugba notes of his first few months on campus. "It was because Brooks was a new place. But taking some of the theater classes, the art classes, I found that I actually liked it. You were encouraged to actually try to do those things that, I think, back home people would have just laughed at. I would have just laughed — me, writing poetry? But I know that poetry helped me. So, now I'm trying to make the arts cool for others."

As a sixth-former, Ndugba won the Russell Prize, which is awarded by the faculty for an outstanding single contribution to the life of the community. Not long after Prize Day, he "had an itch" to make a positive impact on his native Boston, much like he did at Brooks. Ndugba's best friend, Timmance McKinney, who runs his own mentoring program, encouraged Ndugba to launch a speaking series to spend time with school students across the city. The summer after his freshman year at Bryant University, he started speaking to school-age children around the city. Ndugba and McKinney later implemented a five-week male mentoring program for grades four through six at his alma mater, the Mission Grammar School.

Jeffrey Sánchez, former Massachusetts state representative and fellow alumnus of the Roxbury school, met Ndugba during one of his visits to the school and began mentoring Ndugba. Ndugba was invited to the Massachusetts State House and felt particularly inspired by seeing fellow people of color governing for change.

Not long after, Ndugba decided to host an open mic at the State House and subsequently file for 501c, nonprofit status. Remembering how nervous he was before his sixth-form poetry reading, Ndugba typically invites a few local artists to share their work before turning the mic over to the students.

The crowd at 617Peak's second annual open-mic night in 2019.

"It warms the room up. A lot of times the kids are wondering, 'Is how I feel OK?' 'Is this normal?' It helps the kids — most of whom don't know each other — to see somebody who looks like them perform. Then they're willing to get up and say something themselves."

The benefits of 617Peak are two-fold: it brings local community programs together, allowing their students to share and participate with other youth in the city; and for two hours, students are inside a safe space and encouraged to share their stories and find their creative voice.

"It's not just me — each person who volunteers — we all want to reduce the amount of violence in the city, but we also want kids to grow during the process. This is one small way," Ndugba says. "There is a broad range of students who attend the Open Mic events. Whether it's performing or observing, they're going to be in that space — indoors — for two hours, during the warmer months when crime tends to rise. If they can be inside for those two hours it might be one less student who ends up in the wrong situation."

With Dontae Christian '15 (left) and Tamenang Choh '17 (right)

Ndugba has placed the public gatherings on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, so he organized a contest through social media where students submitted writings or performative art videos. Six Boston-area students were then selected to win a $100 gift card and other 617Peak gifts. Ndugba has continued to serve as a mentor to individual youths. He's talked some students through the college and financial aid application process while helping others to connect with local artists in their chosen medium. Noting that several individuals, including Associate Head of School for Faculty Affairs John McVeigh, have mentored him along the way, he sees his efforts as part of a chain of good deeds. He hopes that one day some of his 617Peak participants will pay it forward themselves.

As for basketball, Ndugba was sidelined a season at Bryant due to injury, allowing him to play one final year at Elon University. He's hoping to sharpen his skills before he tests them out in the professional arena. And majoring at Elon in human services studies directly betters his ability to run 617Peak.