Michael Ikossi is working towards earning professional certifications while taking classes at Northern Virginia Community College. He holds a bachelor's degree from Loyola University New Orleans.

While studying at Loyola University on an academic merit scholarship, Michael Ikossi earned inclusion on the dean's list and participated in the Cardoner Leadership Fellow program. Majoring in language and culture with a concentration in French gave him the opportunity to spend a semester abroad at the University of Grenoble in France, a summer semester in Paris and earned him entry into Pi Delta Phi, the French honor society. Because of his high performance in his minor in criminal justice, he also received induction into Alpha Phi Sigma, the national criminal justice honor society.

During his college years, Mr. Ikossi worked on a sustainability policy project for New Orleans municipality’s rebuilding New Orleans program and gained a variety of work experience with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the Smithsonian Institution.