Changemaker Dapo Bankole lives by leaving a place better than you found it

Learn more about the Alumni Changemaker Achievement Awards. 

As a boy growing up in Nigeria, Dapo Bankole always understood that education and helping others were equally important for building a good life and creating a better world.  

He understood because his mother and father, Ayoade and Olawale Bankole, were highly educated and stressed its importance for him - and for the children of friends and family members whose schooling they sponsored. The founder of his high school, Mayflower School in Ikenne, the late Dr. Tai Solarin, also stressed the need to create change for the better wherever you found yourself.  

Bankole has followed these lessons, and for his efforts to lead and help others, he will be presented with an Alumni Changemaker Achievement Award by Royal Roads University. 

The awards celebrate the exceptional achievements and contributions of graduates who have made significant impacts on the complex challenges facing workplaces, communities and the world while embodying the university's values of caring, courage and creativity. The winners will be honoured in a ceremony on campus during Alumni Weekend. 

Bankole, who graduated from Royal Roads in 2018 with a Master of Arts in Leadership, will be presented the Community Changemaker award, which recognizes an alum who is leading systemic community change and has demonstrated an ability to empower local community members and foster inclusivity and diversity.  

“It starts from the home,” he says. “Something that's clear is, growing up, my parents always brought people to themselves. They attracted people, particularly through education.” 

Similarly, he credits Solarin, saying he learned from his former school head, “Never step into a place and leave it exactly as you found it. That’s not what leadership is about.”  

In a letter supporting Bankole’s nomination, TEDxRRU producer and curator Lara Scott highlighted his recognition as a recipient of both the Royal Roads Founders’ Award and the Power of Inclusion Community Leader’s Award from the Council of African Professionals in Canada. She also noted that for his master’s degree capstone project, Bankole tackled the pressing issue of hunger by developing innovative food programming at the Calgary Food Bank.  

His dual interests in personal and community development are reflected in his business. Bankole is founder and president of Mopheth Systems Corp. in Calgary, which provides IT services but also produces software products, including its flagship offering Mentorfy, a platform for companies and organizations to create, manage and expand mentoring programs. 

Bankole also maintains a web site covering his interests in business, IT and immigrant integration as well as one called The Immigrant Life, which focuses on providing newcomers to Canada “the lessons learned, tips, strategies, actionable insights and resources that will help you thrive as a first-generation Canadian immigrant.”  

“Every experience I’ve had is meant to inspire change — or inspire someone not to give up,” Bankole says. This philosophy extends to the three sons he and his wife, Buki Bankole, are raising — David, Daniel and Nehemiah — hoping they see, through his journey and the credentials and awards he’s earned, the value of education and community.  

“Wherever you go,” he continues, “you want to make sure that you are being a positive influencer.” 

The Alumni Changemaker Achievement Awards showcase the diverse talents and accomplishments of RRU's alumni network as they advance the university’s vision to inspire people with the courage to transform the world. The awards reception will be held in the Dogwood Auditorium at RRU. Learn more about Alumni Weekend.