Career Week speakers ‘a slam dunk’ at Lowell High School

By SUBMITTED ARTICLE | Lowell Sun

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As the son of Nigerian immigrants, Bobby Tugbiyele, founder and CEO of The Leap Network, a health care personnel recruitment firm, grew up in a house where it was assumed you would either become a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer.

However, in his freshman year at Tufts University, Tugbiyele earned a C+ in chemistry his first semester; a grade that fell to a D- the second semester.

He quickly realized that maybe being a doctor wasn’t in his future. He did, however, excel in classes that required a lot of reading, writing, speaking and analysis.

“I made a decision a long time ago that any skill I had I was going to try to be the best of it,” he said.  “I made a decision that whether I win or lose I was going to take a risk.”

He transferred to UMass Lowell and pivoted to studying political science and history.

Following graduation, he worked in human resources and recruitment for private companies and nonprofit organizations until 2017 when he decided he no longer wanted to work for other people and took a big risk — a leap of faith — and started his own company.

His risk paid off that time, but not all do. In 2021, Tugbiyele ran for a seat on the Lowell City Council, spending months campaigning and working toward his goal. He came close, but did not win.

What happens when you take a risk and fail to reach your goal?

“We all give up on ourselves at some point,” he said. “The point is to get back up and to have people around you that can help you get back up. You have to keep moving forward.”