D-GEM · Conference 1.0
Don't Graduate
Empty Movement
Conference 1.0
Building a life after school while still in School
Don’t Graduate Empty Movement (D.G.E.M.) is a student-focused movement created to encourage intentional growth beyond the classroom. We believe university should be more than a place where students earn a certificate. It should be a season of discovery, development, building, connection, and preparation for the life ahead. D.G.E.M. challenges students to start building while they are still in school, to develop skills, gain experience, build relationships, explore opportunities, create value, and become intentional about the person they are becoming. The movement creates platforms where students can learn from people who are already building in different fields, connect with opportunities, and gain practical perspectives that complement what they learn in the classroom. Don’t wait until graduation to start building the life you want.
About the movement
D.G.E.M. 1.0 is the maiden physical conference of the Don’t Graduate Empty Movement. The conference is built around one simple question: What if you started building the life you want after graduation before you actually graduate? Through conversations with professionals and people building across different fields, D.G.E.M. 1.0 will expose students to different paths, perspectives, and possibilities beyond the traditional university experience. From academics and technology to leadership, service, networking, and career development, the conference brings together different worlds to help students understand that there is no single path to building a meaningful future. The goal is not simply to inspire students for one day. It is to challenge them to start.
Mission
To create platforms, experiences, and communities that help students intentionally develop their academic, professional, entrepreneurial, creative, leadership, and personal capacities while they are still in school.
Vision
To raise a generation of students who leave the university with more than a certificate, students equipped with skills, experience, relationships, exposure, influence, and the capacity to create value.
The convener
Samuel Ogunkoya, popularly known as Sam the Value Giver (SVG), is a photographer, creative, content creator, and Data Science student at Olabisi Onabanjo University. Through his creative work, Samuel has explored photography, visual storytelling, content creation, and digital creativity, building a growing identity around value, creativity, and intentional development. His journey as a student and creative has shaped his perspective on what it means to make the most of one’s university years. It is from this perspective that he founded the Don’t Graduate Empty Movement (D.G.E.M.)—a movement built on the belief that students should begin building while they are still in school. For Samuel, university is not simply a place to earn a degree. It is a season to learn, build, connect, explore, develop capacity, and create value. Through D.G.E.M., he seeks to create platforms that bring students into conversations with people across different fields, expose them to possibilities beyond the classroom, and encourage them to intentionally build the skills, experiences, relationships, and capacity they will need beyond graduation. His message is simple: Don’t wait until graduation to start building the life you want
Agenda · One day
Sponsors & partners