When rising senior Emmanuella Edoka of the Women’s Basketball team registered for a basketball camp in Nigeria in 2010, she never could have predicted by 2017 she would be at Siena College about to finish her senior year and earn her degree in Economics while also playing basketball.
Edoka was walking home in Nigeria one day and passed a basketball court near her house. The 6-foot rising senior was told she should play and was then told about a camp she should check out. When she went to the camp in 2010, she was told to apply to a camp in the United States. She was accepted to the camp and got a call from the coach at Bishop Kearney in Rochester, New York. When she made the decision to go to Bishop Kearney to play basketball and continue her education she knew there was going to be more opportunities here in the United States. Edoka left behind five younger siblings and both parents, but knew she couldn’t stay in Nigeria just because homesickness threatened.
Before playing for Bishop Kearney, a routine physical revealed that Edoka has a ventricular septal defect. This meant she had holes in her heart. She learned she had to have open heart surgery at the age of 15. Edoka came to the United States to play basketball and thought if she couldn’t play because of the holes in her heart then there would be no reason to be in the U.S.
While at Bishop Kearney, Edoka was scouted and landed at Siena. However, another road bump came during her senior year. Edoka suffered a torn ACL and was forced to miss her freshman season while rehabbing from the injury. She has played two seasons for the Saints and will take part in her senior year during the 2017-18 season. While basketball was her vehicle to the U.S., she pursues many academic and professional opportunities off the court.
While burnishing her basketball stats, Edoka has held several jobs on campus as well as completed an internship with the school’s radio station, WVCR, the Saint. She also participates in Siena’s Economics Students Association and the International Students Association. With these experiences under her belt, she sought another internship this summer that offers greater responsibility and outreach.
This summer she works with the Community Policy Institute Program which is an internship that is part of the Siena service scholar program. She is working with a non-profit called “Capital Roots” in Troy.
Capital Roots strives to reduce the impact of poor nutrition on public health and to give farmers an opportunity to sell their produce to the community at affordable prices. Capital Roots began in 1975 as a community service project of Garden Way, the former manufacture of Troy-Bilt Lawn and Garden Equipment.
“The internship is a great experience,” said Edoka. “I get to do direct service first-hand with the community. For direct service, I go on the veggie mobile and we drive to different towns in the capital region to sell fresh locally grown produce especially to senior citizens as it is hard for them to go to the grocery store to get fresh food. We also go to areas that lack grocery stores like north Albany which is considered a food desert as there is not a single grocery store accessible.”
“Siena college prepared me in way that I was able to translate my team work experience with my teammates with the people at Capital Roots,” Edoka noted. “Helping out senior citizens get their groceries from the veggie mobile was one of my highlights of the internship because it let me know that helping others in need will get you places you never thought you could reach.”
Edoka boasts a 3.54 cumulative grade point average in Economics. She has averaged 4.24 rebounds per game and 2.6 points over her 51 contests played. This past season, Edoka pulled down seven rebounds at Iona on January 10.
"Ella represents the ideal of a student athlete by using her basketball prowess to ensure a livelihood beyond the court, Director of Student Athlete Engagement, Lori Jancik stated. “She makes important, strategic decisions along the way -- add some jobs, complete several substantive internships -- to forge a resume that will serve her well upon graduation. It's especially impressive when these student athletes excel so far from home."