Ashley Akaba (MVS ’23) loved being a student at Michigan Kinesiology, regularly consulting with movement science advisors and taking advantage of career center resources. But she’d noticed that those same opportunities were not as visible to many of her Black peers.

“The culture for so long had been: You walk in, you take your class, and you walk out,” Akaba says. “There’s not really a lot of mingling that happens with other students in the school within the Black community. We would just find our community elsewhere. And I felt that needed to change.”

In response, Akaba founded the Black Undergraduate Kinesiology Association (BUKA) in 2022, to provide Black SoK students with a stronger sense of belonging while also raising awareness about opportunities and resources that might otherwise get overlooked.

She’s proud of what BUKA’s accomplished so far. The organization’s programs have included career development talks; a LinkedIn workshop that discussed how to create a strong profile page and how to find jobs and internships via the site; and community service opportunities like BUKsgiving, a Thanksgiving dinner for students held at the SoK building that served as both a community-building event and a canned food drive for St. John’s Pantry in Ypsilanti.

“We’ve been able to socially introduce so many of the Black Kines students, from incoming students to juniors and seniors,” Akaba says. 

“During my sophomore year, as I transitioned to the School of Kinesiology, BUKA quickly embraced me, providing a genuine sense of belonging and visibility on campus,” affirms Aaliyah Hickman, the current vice president of BUKA. “[Now] my dedication to BUKA's vital mission of amplifying Black voices, promoting inclusivity, and fostering collaboration and peer empowerment is unwavering.”

BUKA has even made an impact off campus: Kinesiology schools at the University of Central Florida and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville launched their own chapters in 2023 after finding the U-M BUKA page online.

“Everybody deserves a place where they can feel welcome and where they feel like they belong,” Akaba says.

BUKA is under new leadership since Akaba graduated in May, but the group will always hold a special place in her heart.

“It’s an honor to hear what people have to say about the organization,” Akaba says. “I’m so proud, and I’m so excited to see where it goes.”