Brian Nana-Sinkam

Classroom

One of 27 Stanford student-athletes majoring in product design, Brian Nana-Sinkam owns a 3.1 GPA and has been a two-time Pac 12 All-Academic selection. He’s developed his marketing skills as an associate in the Stanford Marketing Group, which undertakes 4- to 6-month-long client projects researching consumer behavior and developing marketing strategies for companies like Nixon, Coca-Cola and Twitter. Also a mentorship program participant in the Stanford Biomedical Engineering Society, Nana-Sinkam developed relationships with representatives of Northern California mechanical engineering, bioengineering and medical research firms to expand his network as an engineer. For his design and manufacturing class, Nana-Sinkam made a pressurized stove-top coffee maker using processes such as metal-turing, milling, TIG-welding, CAD design and 3D printing. The pot was created over the course of seven weeks and presented to professors before it was given to his mother as a gift. Finally, Nana-Sinkam was selected for the 2016 Management Leadership for Tomorrow Career Prep Program, one of 300 chosen for an 18-month professional development program for high-achieving, diverse talent. The program’s participants complete business case studies and intensive assignments to hone analytical, quantitative and communication skills. They participate in four seminars across the country with industry leaders such as Google, Deloitte and Target. He is also a proficient alto and tenor saxophonist.

Character

Stanford’s unquestioned leader, Nana-Sinkam was selected to captain the Cardinal over the winter after the team returned from break following its 2015 National Championship. Actively engaged in supporting causes that hit close to home, he is a creative consultant for The Releaf Group, a non-profit organization that connects Nigerian entrepreneurs in the agricultural industry with the talent of the African diaspora in the United States and United Kingdom to drive the Nigerian economy and catalyze the African Renaissance. His role in the organization has been to create meaningful brand recognition and develop beneficial relationships both in the U.S. and in West Africa to expand the group’s network and drive its mission. Nana-Sinkam’s father was born and raised in West Africa (Cameroon), an area of the world that hasn’t fully tapped into its agricultural sector and has therefore struggled economically.

Community

Nana-Sinkam plays an active role in service projects in and around Stanford. He helps to organize events between the AYSO VIP (Very Important Players) Green Giants team and the Stanford men’s soccer team. The Cardinal practices and plays with the kids to have fun and help them build basic soccer fundamentals. He’s also on the Stanford Athletics Cardinal Council, which brought together 23 Stanford teams for an annual Date Auction, raising over $4,500 for Camp Kesem, which offers recreational camps in the United States for children of parents with cancer.

Competition

In his first three seasons, the senior has started at center back in each of the 49 matches in which he has appeared and has been a driving force behind one of the nation’s top defensive teams over that span. Stanford has a 0.74 goals-against average since 2014. Last season, the Cardinal surrendered just 15 goals, its lowest total since 2001 (13), and finished sixth nationally in goals-against average (0.62), the sixth-best mark in program history. Nana-Sinkam’s one career goal came in a game at Cal on Nov. 16, 2014, and helped Stanford clinch its first Pac 12 Championship since 2001.