Leading and serving the Notre Dame family in San Diego

Ihuoma Nwaogwugwu ’15, ’16

3D Printing Research Engineer, HP Inc.

Majors: Mechanical Engineering, Design

Both during and after her time at Notre Dame, Double Domer Ihuoma Nwaogwugwu ’15, ’16 has excelled in faith, service, learning, and work.

Born in Benin City, Nigeria, but later moving to Marietta, Georgia, Nwaogwugwu arrived on campus as a Balfour-Hesburgh scholar, a Notre Dame program that provides high-achieving students from underrepresented backgrounds with a close-knit learning community of current students at Notre Dame. Though kept busy as an undergraduate as a Reilly Dual-Degree student, an active member of the African Students Association and the Voices of Faith Gospel Choir, and as a varsity weight and hammer thrower on the Notre Dame track team, Nwaogwugwu still made time to nurture and prioritize her faith life, traveling off campus to attend services at Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church in South Bend, where she became a valued parishioner and fostered relationships with local community members.

Nwaogwugwu’s work ethic and devotion to her studies led her to become a Double Domer, earning degrees in both mechanical engineering and industrial design. Upon graduation, she accepted a role at Hewlett Packard, where she now works as a 3D Printing Research Engineer. Working directly with Multi Jet Fusion Technology prototyping and production machines, Nwaogwugwu leads innovative advancements in the 3D printing industry while also serving as a role model for women engineers and engineers of color.

In 2018, Ihuoma Nwaogwugwu ’16 showed up to a Notre Dame Club of San Diego meeting for the first time. Soon, she was helping to lead one of the largest projects that the club coordinates — the Casa de los Pobres county-wide candy collection involving 40 parishes and schools that donate their leftover Halloween treats to children most in need in Tijuana, Mexico, at Christmas time. Nwaogwugwu carried forth this community effort for several years, coordinating club volunteers and working closely with the local diocese.

Fast forward five years and Nwaogwugwu now serves as the club’s first Black president and second female president in its 74-year history, leading day-to-day operations and welcoming other alumni of color to get involved in club activities. She continues to inspire future generations of Domers and alumni, parents, and friends to be a force for good for their local communities and beyond.