If Chris Ogbondah looks familiar to you, it’s probably for a good reason— he’s a journalism professor at the University of Northern Iowa. If you’re ever in Lang Hall, you’re bound to see him walking up and down the halls from time to time. The great thing about Professor Ogbondah is that he has more experience than you could ever imagine to back up what he teaches.
Chris’ interest for journalism began in high school, back when he lived in Africa. Stating with his involvement in the Four-in-One organization at his school, his passion for reporting continued to grow. After graduating from the University of Nigeria with a Bachelor in Journalism, he went into work with television for two years then onto a newspaper for another two years, where he was a sports editor.
After hearing so much about the American press and developing a strong interest for it, Chris traveled to the United States to pursue his Master’s at the University of Nebraska.
When Chris was first contacted about working at the UNI, he thought he was speaking to the Dean, and was thrilled that he would go out of his way to offer him a position. Chris was so excited and ended up coming to work at the University. When he arrived, he found out that he had been speaking to Dr. Dean Kruckeberg, another professor at UNI.
Since being at UNI, Chris has not only been an amazing professor, but has also written some very popular books— The Press in Nigeria: An Annotated Bibliography and Military Regimes and the Press in Nigeria, 1966-1993, both of which can be found on Amazon.com.
If you’re interested in Journalism, Chris is a great person to talk to and has some wonderful advice. Here are some tips from the Campus Celebrity himself:
- Be resisilant
- Go for internships, such as at a local paper or printing press to get experience (none are too small)
- Network
- Call editors
- Mentor
- Make sure you’re where you need to be every year of college
- Work your way up— campus to community to local to regional to national
Every four years, Chris goes back to working at a newspaper as a reporter, doing what he truly loves. In the past, he has worked at newspapers in Missouri, Chicago, Illinois, and many other places, and won’t stop at just those.
The next time you see Chris Ogbondah, you’ll know a whole different side of him. We really do have a celebrity among us, and he can teach us how to achieve greatness like he has. All you have to do is listen.