Gephardt Institute for Civic & Community Engagement features “Past and present Civic Scholars” of trubel&co

“I have a strong passion for people and that has led me to this path toward education. I received a lot of great education in my childhood and my parents came here from Nigeria because of education, so I always understood the power of giving back.”  

Knowing the power of mentoring and engaging others in community work, Nick Okafor ‘16—an alumnus of the Gephardt Institute’s Civic Scholars Program—founded trubel&co with the goal of improving and serving communities across the country through STEM education.   

Students at trubel&co are bolstered by its coursework addressing pertinentissues to today’s social and political climate. Through an abolitionist framework, trubel&co integrates technical skills with civic intentions that are community-specific. 

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Okafor put emphasis on a connection between technical skill building that was exciting academically and the community focus that really grounded him. While studying engineering at WashU, Okafor couldn’t help but notice the disparity between social impact and engineering.   

“Why aren’t my engineering classes talking about societal impact? Why aren’t my IAS classes talking about this new digital era, and the different tools that we have to really reinforce social change?” Okafor asked himself.  

His response was to market data, design, and technology as a means for societal impact. trubel&co crystallized its purpose and publicly launched in December of 2022. Before “causing trubel,” as they call it, Okafor and Sylvander wanted to honor the roots and home that fostered trubel&co’s founding: the community of St. Louis.