Togoryamba (Togor) Nunghe ’16 is a technology strategy consultant at Deloitte Consulting with a strong portfolio of work experiences and two master’s degrees. When she came to Berry as a freshman, she was a world away from family. She grew up in Abuja, Nigeria, and had extended family in Houston, Chicago and California. Still, she was determined to attend college “on her own,” away from family. As she looks back on her career growth, Togor realizes she wasn’t exactly on her own. She credits the Berry network with helping her make the right moves to get where she is today.
In high school, Togor enjoyed economics and knew it was the degree she would pursue in college. At Berry, she benefited from classes with Associate Professor of Economics Lauren Heller and Henry Gund Professor of Economics Frank Stephenson. “They made learning economics easy,” recalls Togor, “but they also gave me perspective.” For example, she recounted a time she was upset over an A- in Heller’s History of Thought class. Heller told her, “One day, this grade is not going to matter in the scope of your career.” Togor laughs as she admits that she can’t even recall the assignment.
Togor was also well connected through leadership organizations, honor societies and her job at Berry’s Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD). Through these experiences, she watched older students make choices and learned to think strategically beyond college.
“Sue Tarpley [director of the career center emerita], my work supervisor, helped me remember that I wouldn’t be there forever and inspired me to look to students and alumni doing things I hoped to do. Then, she encouraged me not to hesitate to reach out to them,” recalls Togor.
Togor applied this advice during her senior year when she was aggressively job hunting and hitting some barriers due to the red tape required to get a job as an immigrant. She attended a networking breakfast where she ran into Aaron Chastain, an alum and senior investment consultant at NEPC. She shared her aspirations but didn’t think much of the conversation.
Two weeks later, Chastain called and said another alum, John Coleman, was looking for someone to work with him at Invesco. Following the call, she went through a two-step interview process and took the job as a paid three-month internship.
“It wasn’t a full-time job, but it was a good first job,” Togor says. Invesco later extended her internship so she could work on a project with Deloitte. This position was her first deep experience with consulting. Meanwhile, Berry alumni continued to mentor Togor, encouraging her to apply to graduate programs. She reached out to her professors, who also helped her narrow down schools and wrote her recommendations.
A year later, she was accepted to Duke University’s Master of Management Studies and signed with Deloitte as an advisory consultant halfway through her program. “I believe the main reason I stood out as a candidate was because I had the Invesco experience. I may have been an intern, but few students had similar real-world experience,” notes Togor.
Later, when she was ready for a new focus within Deloitte, she earned a second master’s degree in information technology from the University of the Cumberlands.
Summing up her story, she says, “I'm going to have to write all these people more thank you notes. When you reflect on your journey, you realize how many people helped you along the way.” Togor’s career trajectory is one of a hardworking, determined person, but it is also the story of what it means to have Berry College as an alma mater.
Photo by Steven Noreyko Photography
