If there is one thing that University of Delaware rising junior Ebenezer Antwi learned this summer, it is that every invitation is not optional.

Antwi, an operations management major and Community Engagement Scholar in the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, found himself immersed in transformational opportunities from June through July in Washington, D.C., as part of the Washington Program, a two-year summer internship program run by the Institute for Responsible Citizenship. The goal of the program is to boost young Black men, helping them make valuable connections in the government and corporate spheres and achieve success. 

His introduction to the elite program was by happenstance. Antwi often doesn’t read email newsletters, much less scroll all the way to the bottom and click links. But one day last year, for some reason, he opened a newsletter, kept reading through it toward the end, and clicked on a link about the internship opportunity and applied. 

Now, he’s one of only 12 students from around the country selected to participate in the Washington Program. He’s also the first student ever selected from UD since the program began accepting students in 2003. 

“I created the Institute to provide some of the most talented African American male students the kind of support that many others in our society take for granted,” said William A. Keys IV, founder and president of the Institute for Responsible Citizenship, in a press release announcing the 2024 cohort.

Antwi just finished his first year with the program, which included moving to the Foggy Bottom section of Washington D.C., an internship with Shop Made in D.C. (which promotes local artisans and manufacturers in the city), classroom work and networking. Or, as Antwi described it, “a mix of internship, professional development, work, fun and play.” His second year will begin next June, focusing on professional and personal development, mentorship and preparation for further education. 

In his application, Antwi was asked why he wanted to participate in the Institute. “I see the Institute as the ultimate haven to become the Black male leader I see in myself,” he wrote. After his first summer, he realized he got exactly what he imagined.

“Before the summer I found it challenging to sell myself and my attributes, but throughout the program, I learned the importance of embracing your strengths and self-advocacy,” Antwi said.

Shop Made in DC

During the day, Antwi took the Metro to travel to various Shop Made in D.C. locations throughout the District of Columbia, College Park, Maryland and Old Town, Virginia. He got to work with executives on streamlining production, analyzing industry trends and building partnerships from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

As an aside, Antwi wanted to tell fellow UD students that they should plan accordingly if they want to intern in a large metro area. “The Metro wasn’t cheap.”

“There were about five stores that I jumped in between,” Antwi said. “I went to five different stores for the first five weeks. And I repeated the first three stores for the last few weeks."

“It was really insightful because every store had a unique culture stemming from the mix of local makers, products and customers, which allowed me to figure out what I liked,” Antwi continued. 

He enjoyed his time with Shop Made in D.C.’s corporate team, where he fulfilled custom orders for companies and advertised to different apartment complexes in the city.

He even researched and helped Shop Made in D.C. look into becoming a Certified B Corporation, which is a company that has met the highest standards for social and environmental performance. It aligned with Antwi’s interests in supply chain management and sustainability.

Responsible citizenship

“Each day after work, I would get back, change into a suit, and then report to the Institute For Responsible Citizenship, where we would have our classes and networking meetings,” Antwi said. 

Meeting with alumni of the Institute for Responsible Citizenship helped Antwi get a glimpse of what life post-graduation could look like. The program hosted an alumni weekend retreat and Antwi got to experience what the brotherhood really was all about. “It showed me that the aspect of brotherhood that they talk about isn’t just a tagline, but rather something that sticks with you 5, 10, 15 years after you complete the Institute,” he said.

The first two weeks of Antwi’s program included a course on Constitutional principles called Reconstruction and the Era of Citizenship. His cohort learned about the 13, 14, and 15 Amendments and the abolition of slavery. The course was taught by Dr. Robert Bland, assistant professor of history and Africana studies at the University of Tennessee, who is an alumnus of the Washington Program. 

“I’m not a history person, and this class was a real eye-opening experience,” Antwi said. “I had to research and present on the impeachment of Andrew Jackson and the setbacks that happened to the abolition movement.

“I learned a lot about the Reconstruction Era. I was even able to connect with a coworker over (Alexander) Hamilton, and I realized that history is not boring. It’s good to immerse yourself in topics that pertain to your community and our country’s history overall.”

He also learned about ethical decision-making and the importance of better capitalism, better leadership and for companies to do better for the people who support them.

“We can use laws to affect company and consumer behavior,” Antwi said. The importance of incentives is something that was also stressed in his ethics class.

When he wasn’t in class, Antwi spent most evenings meeting and networking with notable people, such as Washington Post journalist Eugene Scott, U.S. Congressman James Clyburn, member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. Antwi’s chance meeting with Roosevelt Holmes from the U.S. Department of Commerce led to an invitation to a networking session with Siemens. 

Antwi mentioned that all of these meetings and networking opportunities were made possible by Andrew Mulinge, the director of the Washington Program and a 2014 alumnus of the Institute for Responsible Citizenship.

Saying yes

Antwi will say ‘yes’ to as many opportunities as he can at UD this fall. He learned this lesson from the Institute’s founder, Dr. Keyes, and hopes to implement it in the various organizations he’s involved in. This semester, Antwi is serving as co-president of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA). He aims to create a space for Black business students to connect with companies and important people in the business world. He also serves on the Lerner Student Advisory Board and the Cultural Programming Advisory Board.

He likes planning and logistics and hopes to someday land a leadership role at a company where he can help make important decisions, so operations management is where he found his niche. 

What are Antwi’s goals for his junior year and the second year of his internship? “I want to use my business background to impact the community. To better understand the policy side of business and how policy can be leveraged to implement change.”