A new `chief' of the UMC

It wasn't a recruitment meeting that inspired Papa Wassa Nduom to join the United Minorities Council. It wasn't freshman orientation or an adviser session either.

Instead, it happened on stage.

On the set of the Penn student production of the musical The Wiz in fall 2000, Nduom met and chatted with last year's Council Co-Chairwoman Iman Martin.

"I didn't do anything like this in high school," said Nduom, a College sophomore and sociology major who was more preoccupied with theater, track and socializing in high school than political action. "But [Martin] was talking about admissions, recruitment and retention.... I wanted the same opportunity to dig into these issues."

So Nduom, whose friends call him "Chiefy," joined the UMC last spring, serving as an admissions co-chairman. Only two semesters later, he has been elected chairman for the 2002 calendar year.

The new chairman may not have been heavily involved in minority affairs prior to his college career, but a life of international residency certainly contributes to a broad world perspective and finely-tuned people skills. Nduom was born in Milwaukee and moved to Falls Church, Va., at age four. When he was eight, he moved to Ghana, from where his family originally hails, and spent his high school years at a Connecticut boarding school.

"I guess I call Ghana home," Nduom said. "That's where I spend Christmas."

The UMC has big plans for this semester, and Nduom's primary objective is to foster more action and less talk than in previous years.

Nduom said that it is "the death of any organization" to only react to problems as they arise. He realizes, however, that the road to success poses many challenges.

"The toughest part is to be proactive, and making sure I'm not behind on all the issues," Nduom said. "To be legitimate, you have to be proactive. You have to be out there in the community."

With his newest title, Nduom has a pretty full plate in front of him.

In addition to serving as UMC chairman, Nduom is a program assistant on the Living Cultures for Community House residential program, a college house research fellow and a member of the political action and research committee for UMOJA, an umbrella group seeking to unite students and groups of the African diaspora.

And in his free time, Nduom serves as vice-chairman of the student life committee on the Undergraduate Assembly.

While Nduom has an especially packed schedule this year, so do many other UMC board members, and he insists that credit be given where it is due.

"We're not a body where the chair says this is what we're going to do, this is the agenda for the semester and I'm going to delegate what you're going to do," Nduom said. "It's so much more of a partnership and so much less of a hierarchy within the UMC."

The UMC has a 12-member board, and while Nduom is the council's leader, all decisions are made collectively.

"We all come together to discuss what we do... in what direction we want to head," said UMC Political Chairman Shaun Gonzales, a College junior .

Each board member serves as a liaison to a particular constituent student group.

"The board is compiled of people who have individual goals," said College sophomore Darcy Richie, co-vice chairwoman of the council and a Daily Pennsylvanian photographer. Board members "all have their own goals for their sector."

The most important work that the board does, though, is working to foster good relations among the constituent groups themselves through the organization of events.

"The UMC is providing people-power in terms of board members who are willing to go out and get groups together," Nduom said.

Nduom described his own duties as "coordinating, facilitating, making sure key positions are getting all their work done." But he also feels he provides general direction.

"I do have ideas, I do have visions," he said. " I want tangible things to get done that affect people, want to make sure our goals are diversified."

Nduom said that he enjoys working with the UMC because it gives him a unique opportunity to tackle stimulating and relevant topics.

"I can do a lot of things that I'm really interested in at Penn through the UMC," he said. "I can work in a position that has benefits for me in terms of people skills... and dealing with issues that I'm going to face later on in my life."

UMC members are confident that Nduom will conquer the challenges that he will face over the next year.

"He will have an extremely positive effect on the UMC," Co-Vice Chairwoman and College junior Trina Dasgupta said. "Chiefy is a visionary."

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