Posted on March 2, 2023
As co-president of the a cappella group Aural Fixation, Dumebi Onogwu (CAS’23) knows the importance of alumni support. To help the group secure matching funds through a Giving Day challenge, former members rallied to contribute enough money to support several key projects: trips to other colleges for joint concerts with similar ensembles, producing and distributing several recordings, and a festive banquet in fall 2022 to celebrate Aural Fixation’s 25th anniversary.
“Most of our alumni could come and celebrate with us,” she says. “It was really great connecting with them, and they got to share their experiences at BU with us.”
For her part, Aural Fixation has been an important part of Dumebi’s BU experience—and not just because she loves to sing. “It’s really great having that community,” she says. “We all just come from such diverse backgrounds, from international students to transfer students, and from all over the US too.”
The group has grown even more diverse in recent years, as all of the University’s singing groups (particularly those that formerly included only one gender) have reassessed how they determine membership. Aural Fixation is now a “treble-voiced” group and is open to nonbinary members as well as those who identify as female.
“We welcome all,” Dumebi says simply. “I think it’s allowing the a cappella community to grow so much more, and it just adds so much dimension to the sound.” More broadly, she says, “we just want to make sure people are feeling included, and the community is very inclusive at BU.”
Inclusion is a theme of many of her activities on campus. A psychology major, she is also pursuing a minor in Deaf Studies, and her interest in helping people communicate has included a research project on aphasia. “I feel like I’ve grown a lot academically and socially at BU,” says Dumebi. “It’s just really allowed me to expand myself in so many different areas.”
Now, she’s finding ways to give back, even before she graduates; she has done fundraising in the Student Philanthropy Center and is Class Gift co-chair for this year’s seniors. And she plans to stay connected with the BU singing community for many years to come—just like the alumni who have done so much for her group, especially on Giving Day.
“It’s great to see that our alumni really love to connect with us, and they’re so encouraging to us,” Dumebi says. As for her? “I would love to just keep on singing forever.”
Learn how you can support student groups like Dumebi’s on Giving Day.