Olamide Ayeni, an award-winning Nigerian student in the United States, has emerged as one of the 88 successful candidates for the 2025 class of the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship.

Ayeni is currently pursuing a master’s in Engineering Management at Michigan Technological University.

She told EQ that she was elated to have been the first African from Michigan State and the only finalist from the state to be selected for the fellowship.

She is the founder of Hopcyku (formally known as Pearl Recycling), a Nigerian-based company revolutionising waste management and fostering sustainability. In January, she won a $1,000 prize and a Social Impact Award at the Bob Mark Business Model Pitch Competition for the coy.

Ayeni was selected as an Obama Africa Leader in 2018 and, she received a major award from the US Department of State in 2017.

Olamide Ayeni.

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The fellowship is a part of the Sea Grant College Programme of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US.

“This year, for the first time in the programme’s history, all eligible Sea Grant programmes are represented by a diverse cohort of 88 early-career professionals who will spend the next year working alongside federal agencies or legislative offices in Washington, D.C., applying their academic expertise to critical marine, coastal and Great Lakes policy issues,” NOAA stated while announcing the selection on its website on Wednesday.

EQ understands that the programme is a US government initiative focused on oceans and lakes, similar to Nigeria’s Ministry of Environment. It selects young professionals, PhD holders, and scholars from across the US for a paid one-year fellowship in Washington, D.C., where they work with policy experts to develop policies related to marine and environmental issues.

Some of the 88 fellows. Screenshot taken on October. 3.

“It is a competitive programme; everybody wants to get in,” she said. “You can imagine being the first African from the state of Michigan. Not just the first Nigerian, but the first African, so it’s such a big deal to me.”

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According to Ayeni, her organisation’s commitment to promoting sustainable waste management through the circular economy — waste reuse — was one of the reasons she was considered for the fellowship.

“For me, it’s been a constant work to make sure that ocean, lake and waste pollution are reduced and that is still going to be my focus.”
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