Boni Odoemene will join a class of 30 student participants representing the island of Ireland as part of the Washington Ireland Program for Service and Leadership (WIP) this year.

WIP inspires and develops promising leaders through a 12-month programme of service and leadership development, which includes a summer in Washington DC or New York City.

Notable alumni of the programme are now serving as Taoiseach (Leo Varadkar, class of 2000), Lord Mayor of Belfast (Nuala McAllister, class of 2010) and in Westminster (Emma Little-Pengelly, class of 2002).

Selection for the 2018 programme was highly competitive, with 300 students from across the island competing for the opportunity to become part of an active WIP network seeking to make a difference in their communities.

“I’m proud, nervous and excited for this wonderful opportunity and experience,” says Odoemene, a law graduate from DIT completing his second term as DITSU president, and who is one of this year’s successful applicants. “It is a true honour to be selected for this year’s WIP class, and I am looking forward to my involvement.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar recently launched WIP’s New York programme by speaking about his experience on WIP at the Irish Consulate in New York City.

“It helped me develop my view of the wider world … and without it perhaps I wouldn’t be standing here today,” he said.

Follow the progress of Boni Odemene and others this summer at wiprogram.org.

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