get these nets
Veteran
This Houston woman couldn't find a Nigerian creatives network, so she made one. Now she’s in Forbes.
Jan. 27, 2022
Houstonian Eno Oduok, 22, was recognized as a 2022 Forbes 30 under 30 list honoree for founding Naija Comm, an online platform that works to foster connection among Nigerian professionals in "non-traditional" creative fields.
Growing up in Houston, Eno Oduok never felt out of place as a first-generation Nigerian-American. It wasn't until after she graduated from the University of Houston and starting chasing a career that she experienced culture shock.
In a city that's touted as the most diverse city in the U.S. and has the second largest Nigerian population in the nation, according to U.S. Census data from 2015-2019, she thought she'd be able to connect with a few like-minded local Nigerians in the public relations industry. But when she went to Google she was discouraged.
"The careers that I was interested, in I wasn’t seeing in my city," she said. "I searched for social pages regarding Nigerian men and women in PR and I didn’t see any. Then I tried broader areas, like communications. Again, I didn’t see anything. But if you google Nigerians in medicine, pages come up."
The latter didn't surprise her, she said, noting stigmas in West African culture around "non-traditional careers" like communications or graphic design. Instead, it's common for Nigerians parents to push their children to pursue careers in medicine, law or engineering.
"I think it’s because of stability," Oduok, 22, said. "Those are the career paths that are seen as more stable and profitable. They’re always here. A lot of elders in the Nigerian community have grown accustomed to that."
Luckily for Oduok, those choices were recommended rather than enforced in her family, who supported her in whatever path she wished to take. But some of her friends couldn't relate.
Although she had the support at home, she still wanted a network, a social club. So she created her own.
"If I don’t create it then who will?" Oduok said.
In October 2020, she launched Naija Comm, an online platform that gives Nigerian professionals in creative industries, including media and entertainment, a space to connect, network and have conversations. The group hosts virtual networking events, panel discussions often about taboo topics within the culture, shares job opportunities and occasionally spotlights accomplished Nigerians, such as artists and recent Grammy nominees Burna Boy, Tems, and Josef Adamu, who worked as the creative director behind Houston's own Megan Thee Stallion in her Texas Southern graduation shoot.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/li...-year-houston-where-to-celebrate-16808924.php
The name of the platform is a play on the slang term, Naija, which can be used an adjective to describe a Nigerian or a noun to describe Nigeria.
Although Oduok never desired to assemble a community together, especially in this way, once she did it quickly surpassed all of her expectations.
She was recently featured as one of Forbes' 2022 30 under 30 honorees within its media category, highlighting individuals under the age of 30 defining and driving the world of news and content.
"Eno Oduok is combating the stigmas surrounding what she says her community considers 'non-traditional' careers as CEO of Naija Comm," the business magazine wrote on her profile.
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Have you experienced any societal pressures in the past and even currently in your chosen career field?
Not so much in my household but mainly within the Nigerian community. Whenever you go to social gatherings or parties, the elders ask you the common questions… “What are you studying in school?” or “what do you do?” And when I would tell them about PR, there was also confusion or uncertainty. Either it was because they didn’t know what it was, and they assumed that it didn’t make money or that it didn’t meet their expectations as a Doctor or Lawyer title would.
There is this constant pressure within our community to pursue a traditional career path. You know the saying, “you’re either a doctor, lawyer or a disappointment”. Don’t get me wrong, traditional careers are amazing but that isn’t everyone’s passion. Plus, you don’t need a traditional career path in order to be successful or to progress in life. During my adolescence, that pressure made me second-guess what I wanted to do, and I was constantly worrying about what other people thought. But as I grew up, I ignored other peoples’ opinions and I followed my passion.
.
Jan. 27, 2022
Houstonian Eno Oduok, 22, was recognized as a 2022 Forbes 30 under 30 list honoree for founding Naija Comm, an online platform that works to foster connection among Nigerian professionals in "non-traditional" creative fields.
Growing up in Houston, Eno Oduok never felt out of place as a first-generation Nigerian-American. It wasn't until after she graduated from the University of Houston and starting chasing a career that she experienced culture shock.
In a city that's touted as the most diverse city in the U.S. and has the second largest Nigerian population in the nation, according to U.S. Census data from 2015-2019, she thought she'd be able to connect with a few like-minded local Nigerians in the public relations industry. But when she went to Google she was discouraged.
"The careers that I was interested, in I wasn’t seeing in my city," she said. "I searched for social pages regarding Nigerian men and women in PR and I didn’t see any. Then I tried broader areas, like communications. Again, I didn’t see anything. But if you google Nigerians in medicine, pages come up."
The latter didn't surprise her, she said, noting stigmas in West African culture around "non-traditional careers" like communications or graphic design. Instead, it's common for Nigerians parents to push their children to pursue careers in medicine, law or engineering.
"I think it’s because of stability," Oduok, 22, said. "Those are the career paths that are seen as more stable and profitable. They’re always here. A lot of elders in the Nigerian community have grown accustomed to that."
Luckily for Oduok, those choices were recommended rather than enforced in her family, who supported her in whatever path she wished to take. But some of her friends couldn't relate.
Although she had the support at home, she still wanted a network, a social club. So she created her own.
"If I don’t create it then who will?" Oduok said.
In October 2020, she launched Naija Comm, an online platform that gives Nigerian professionals in creative industries, including media and entertainment, a space to connect, network and have conversations. The group hosts virtual networking events, panel discussions often about taboo topics within the culture, shares job opportunities and occasionally spotlights accomplished Nigerians, such as artists and recent Grammy nominees Burna Boy, Tems, and Josef Adamu, who worked as the creative director behind Houston's own Megan Thee Stallion in her Texas Southern graduation shoot.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/li...-year-houston-where-to-celebrate-16808924.php
The name of the platform is a play on the slang term, Naija, which can be used an adjective to describe a Nigerian or a noun to describe Nigeria.
Although Oduok never desired to assemble a community together, especially in this way, once she did it quickly surpassed all of her expectations.
She was recently featured as one of Forbes' 2022 30 under 30 honorees within its media category, highlighting individuals under the age of 30 defining and driving the world of news and content.
"Eno Oduok is combating the stigmas surrounding what she says her community considers 'non-traditional' careers as CEO of Naija Comm," the business magazine wrote on her profile.
=================
Have you experienced any societal pressures in the past and even currently in your chosen career field?
Not so much in my household but mainly within the Nigerian community. Whenever you go to social gatherings or parties, the elders ask you the common questions… “What are you studying in school?” or “what do you do?” And when I would tell them about PR, there was also confusion or uncertainty. Either it was because they didn’t know what it was, and they assumed that it didn’t make money or that it didn’t meet their expectations as a Doctor or Lawyer title would.
There is this constant pressure within our community to pursue a traditional career path. You know the saying, “you’re either a doctor, lawyer or a disappointment”. Don’t get me wrong, traditional careers are amazing but that isn’t everyone’s passion. Plus, you don’t need a traditional career path in order to be successful or to progress in life. During my adolescence, that pressure made me second-guess what I wanted to do, and I was constantly worrying about what other people thought. But as I grew up, I ignored other peoples’ opinions and I followed my passion.
.
