Meet Elly Bulega

Whitworth Cadre Four
'10 Graduate (B.S. Engineering Physics)
Bellarmine Preparatory School '06

Survival mode

When Elly Bulega and his family moved from Uganda to the United States in 2001, the month after September 11th, "life was about survival," Elly said ironically. It was a time when Americans felt more vulnerable than ever before. Even more threatening than terrorism, in Elly's mind, was the possibility of being left behind in American classrooms. Elly saw the opportunities his new country would offer, but coming up against cultural and language barriers, he knew hard work would be his only option. "The way I was raised, the easy way out of a situation always comes back to bite you, one way or another," Elly said.

Challenge and success

Elly's first success and true challenge came as he joined his older sister Mary in receiving a partial scholarship to Bellarmine Preparatory High School in Tacoma. "The first two years I was trying to learn the language and do well in school. I had to have a good GPA to keep my scholarship," he explained. Needless to say, Elly's hard work paid off and he did very well in high school, graduating from Bellarmine with an above average GPA.

A growing heart for leadership

While outstanding grades allowed him to keep his Bellarmine scholarship, Elly's hard work ethic, in and outside the classroom, began developing into the kind of service-minded leadership the Act Six program seeks to cultivate. One of his future goals became to give back in some way to his community in Uganda. "If I'm going back to try to help my country, I'm going to have to get experience in leading people," Elly said. Coming to Whitworth as an Act Six scholar has become an opportunity for Elly to do just that.

Developing confidence

Getting essential leadership experience has never been something that comes overnight, even for natural leaders like Elly. Since coming to Whitworth, Elly has had to overcome certain barriers in fulfilling his full potential. Many of these hurdles are, according to Elly, related to a need for confidence development. "When I look at the scholars that have come before me, and all the things they do, I'm afraid of taking risks," Elly said. Fortunately, the design of the Act Six program is such that every new scholar is joined by a cadre of about ten others, who may act as a support network for the developing leader. "When I see Dan Dan [who is my cadre] trying new things, I just keep getting more confidence," Elly said.

Beyond survival

With plans to become an engineer one day, Elly's experience as an Act Six scholar is definitely going to give him the boost of confidence he needs to go as far as his dreams desire. He is already considering taking advantage of a post-college job opportunity in engineering that could take him all over the world helping people, maybe even back to Uganda at some point. Wherever he goes, Elly will be an example to people everywhere of what it means to not only survive, but to succeed and lead others.

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