Macquin Nnadi Jr. is a Raleigh, NC native and a proud HBCU alum of the illustrious North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in business management with a concentration in entrepreneurship and a minor in speech communications.
Macquin, tell us about your background and current profession.
Macquin: Upon graduating, I dedicated my life to finding out how money works and how I could use it as a tool to create generational wealth for myself and others, propelling me into the financial services industry, where I decided to take a job with the State Employees’ Credit Union. This job provided me with the necessary education and tools to foster financial literacy, all while delivering value to the community and membership. I worked my way up from a bank teller to a loan officer before finally moving into an operational investment analyst role.
During the pandemic, I decided to take a leap of faith and focus on my passion which was real estate at the time. Unbeknownst to me, God had other plans for my life and moved me into a new direction in digital assets. Since 2014 I have been fascinated and involved with cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.
This inspired me to take a job with Fidelity Digital Assets and focus on educating the retail consumer, all while providing world-class service—combining my passion for helping others and my love for blockchain technologies. This newfound career path has genuinely been a match made from heaven and has provided me with the happiness and excitement I could only dream of before.
What led you to NC A&T?
After all the various college visits I went on. I decided to attend an HBCU because my family is full of HBCU graduates from Shaw University, Saint Augustine’s University, and Elizabeth City State University. They all raved about how proud they were to attend an HBCU, the quality of education, and the camaraderie among their peers. Going to an HBCU simply felt like “home.”
My favorite aspect of my HBCU experience, besides homecoming (GHOE), was the culture and various people I was able to meet and build relationships with during my time there.
Greatest homecoming on earth #GHOE
What does Black Excellence mean to you? And, would you send your child to an HBCU?
Black Excellence to me means constantly adding value and delivering at a high level. It means becoming a leader, holding yourself to high standards, and not settling for less. It also means building a legacy for the younger generations to follow and setting a precedent of excellence by doing what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it. Lastly, it means pushing past good to get to great and overcoming any obstacle or challenge in your way.
I would definitely encourage my child to attend an HBCU. My experiences at NC A&T were second to none, and everyone should get a chance to pursue high learning at a great institution where the faculty and staff have your best interest at heart. I also want my child to have an opportunity to build a strong network and be exposed to many different viewpoints to shape and mold their own identity for the future.
AMERICA’S NO. 1 HBCU
ONE OF NORTH CAROLINA’S TOP RESEARCH CAMPUSES
As a public, high-research activity land-grant university, North Carolina A&T is a research engine, education center, and economic catalyst serving not only this state but the nation. With students drawn from nearly every state in America and six continents around the world, our educational impact is as broad and deep as any university in the Southeastern United States. We are not only America’s top-rated historically black university (HBCU) but its largest for seven consecutive years, as well as its leading HBCU STEM institution. We produce more African American engineers and agricultural scientists than any university in the nation and are home to the top public HBCU business school in the country.
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Lynnecia S. Eley is Founder & Managing Editor of Soigne’ + Swank Magazine. She is a career-driven entrepreneur, wife, and mother. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, she is an award-winning University Assistant Dean and Adjunct Professor committed to excellence, dedication, and caring for others. Known as the Confidence Doula, Lynnecia is a best-selling author and coach, a founder of Two Queens Media and Black & Ivy League, Inc. You can learn more about Lynnecia and her platforms at www.shecaninspire.com.