The Journey to Graduation Day: Michelle Mbekeani, ’14, Saying her dreams out loud

Michelle Mbekeani was a little girl who wanted to be president and wasn’t shy about telling people that. But as she became an adult, it started to feel a little silly to have such an audacious goal, much less say it out loud. 

“In Law School, you get your first really bad grade and think, ‘can I really do this?’” Michelle said.

Now that she’s on the verge of graduation, Michelle is speaking those dreams with confidence again.

“The dream is to be governor of Illinois and then president,” she said. “It takes grit to get where you want to be. Why not me?”

Michelle, 24, is the daughter of Malawian immigrants who came to the United States to pursue their educations; her mom is a trauma surgeon, and her dad is a business executive who graduated from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Her grandfather fought for Malawi’s independence against the British and later served as the country’s ambassador to the U.S., the United Kingdom, and other nations.

Politics were standard conversational fare around the family dinner table in Oak Park, a western suburb of Chicago. Her father read her Chinua Achebe’s A Man of the People, about an African military coup, as a bedtime story.

Michelle graduated from Stony Brook University, part of the State University of New York, where she studied German language and literature, political science, and Middle Eastern studies. Her post-graduation work plans are being finalized now; she plans to stay in Chicago, her lifelong home.  

As an undergraduate, Michelle founded her own nonprofit, Then Just Feed One, Inc., to encourage young people to do small-scale community service projects. She raised $20,000 last year to take students from across the University of Chicago to Malawi for various service projects, including delivering ventilators to a maternity ward and hosting a workshop for girls on sexual education. 

On campus, she practiced her leadership skills as chairman of the Graduate Council, the student council for graduate students, and student adviser to the Office of Civic Engagement. She also held officer roles in the Law School’s chapter of the Black Law Students Association, as well as BLSA’s Midwest regional chapter. 

Of all her experiences, the best training for politics was meeting her classmates at the Law School, Michelle said. They constantly fascinated and challenged her with their backgrounds and beliefs, and learning how to relate to people who are very different is key to being a successful elected official, she pointed out.

“I don’t know how Dean Perry does it. She finds the most interesting people,” Michelle said. “I have learned so much from my classmates and their perspectives.”

Early in her Law School tenure, Michelle was sometimes tempted to roll her eyes at the school’s emphasis on “diversity of thought.” Today, she’s a believer. “Now I get what ‘diversity of thought’ means,” she said. “You’re always going to find someone you like socially and you get along with, and then you find out they have completely different political beliefs than you. But, I still like you and I still like working with you, and you have a good work ethic. It shows that politics are important, but they’re not that important when it comes to creating meaningful relationships.” 

She’s also been inspired by the many alumni she’s met who have gone on to great things, including elected office.

“They were in my position, and look where they are now,” she said. “If they can do it, why can’t I do it?”