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Welcome to Coffee with COJO. My name is Demitria Gilkey, and I am the graduate host for this podcast.

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School just started yesterday and I am so excited to start the podcast off with an amazing woman who happens to be a new faculty member here at SDSU.

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You, ladies and gentlemen, listeners from all over the country.

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Welcome. Dr. Shola Aromona.

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Thank you. Thank you for agreeing to be our first guest for the beginning of the school year.

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We are so excited to have you. I'm excited to be here, too.

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Thank you. Awesome. So let's just jump right on in.

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Tell us about yourself. Where are you originally from and how did you end up at SDSU?

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So I am originally from Lagos, Nigeria.

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I grew up in Lagos, all my life spent in Lagos, except when I went to college in a city 2 hours away from Lagos.

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But still I always went back to just like almost every weekend stop at SDSU.

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It was just what I was looking for. So it was at a point when I really wanted to.

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I was looking for a place where I could thrive while I could, while I was contributing my expertise in terms of my teaching, my research, my service.

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And I wanted a place where I could do all of that, all of those things, and still thrive.

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And so I was at a point where I really wanted something else.

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I wanted a place that I could thrive while I was also doing my doing my job along those lines.

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Walk us through your educational journey. Did most of my high school and undergraduate back in Nigeria.

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I worked for a bit before. I then proceeded to graduate school in the United States.

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I'm not in the United States for grad school, and I got my master's from East Tennessee State Uversity where I did work in

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Professional communication is what the Master's program was called at a time, but I concentrated on strategy,

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communication, and while I was there, I didn't think I wanted to go do any other time.

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But I followed my professors who, I don't know would just thought, I mean, they must be crazy all the time.

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Told me, Oh, maybe I should go just get a Ph.D. now and get it out of the way.

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So I appreciate that I did that, but I don't know because I don't know if I would have done that at a time that I but I did.

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So I got my Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in journalism and mass communications.

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And my focus in terms of my research was political communications, more specifically political information evaluation and social media.

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So that's that's my educational journey. Let's jump in and you kind of answer the next question.

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Did you always want to be a professor?

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And you said, you know, you didn't really think about it with your colleagues or your former professors kind of nudged you on.

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So why do you think that they did That was where you just an amazing student and amazing worker.

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What did they what do you think they saw in you? Well, I probably need to go back to them and ask that question, but I really I always wanted to be a teacher.

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I always wanted to teach and be a professor. Actually, I wanted to to get a Ph.D., but I didn't think because growing up,

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I didn't think I saw the there was something you get when you're like 50 or something like that.

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So I didn't think it was it was time or that I could get it when I did not like I was too young to get it.

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But I was just it just wasn't on my radar.

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I didn't think that I could get it or I could go in for that pitch the other time that I did.

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But I always wanted to be a teacher. I started teaching when I was really, really young.

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Sounds like a cliche whenever I say, but I say it when I was about seven or eight.

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I mean I'll teach imaginary to then write on the wall, right on any any surface at all.

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I mean, I would write on those things and, you know, I'll just repeat things that my teachers at setting school, you know, to imaginary students.

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And I remember my father's friend buying me my first chalkboard like, you know, like a like the equivalent of a whiteboard this day.

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He got me into these settings and what so bought me that.

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And that was like the best gift ever as a child because, I mean, it just meant that I could write,

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you know, I have this, this, this, this is my this is my space.

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I could do whatever I wanted at the time.

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And I think it was they my parents and my neighbors.

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I think they like that, even though they didn't say it in many words.

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But I, I think that they did like that because it meant that I wasn't writing on the wall was anymore.

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And I wasn't I wasn't writing every selfie that I found, you know.

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So yeah. So yeah, they wanted to be a teacher.

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Yeah, that's inspiring. You know, I read something once and it said a lot of times what you do as a child, things that you find interesting.

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Sometimes they show up later in life and careers.

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For example, for me, I am also a licensed hairstylist.

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So growing up I was playing with dolls and I thought it just took me a second

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because you were talking about how you were so impressed and happy about.

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A chalkboard wall. My mom, I requested a mannequin head, which the real mannequin heads are like 5000 dollars.

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So I got that for Christmas. And fast forward. I'm doing here part time and inspiring and helping women physically.

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And you know, you're doing the same thing. You're, you know, following your dreams and living them and doing your passions, which is awesome.

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So that's inspiring. So let's jump in now that you are teaching and everything,

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what would you say is your teaching philosophy or style, or is it a combination of something?

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I am big on active learning and beacons, on student centered learning, experiential learning.

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I'm big on facilitating, so I see myself more has a facilitator of learning.

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So if you in my class, my speech definitely to your way, to, you know, to do what you need to do in class to to do well.

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So I see myself has one person within class to make sure you to model to you good practices, but particularly to facilitate your learning.

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You know, so I'm big on those things. And I think my teaching philosophy always some my teaching philosophy, talking about in three words curiosity, critical thinking and collaborative,

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all community collaboration, a community basically, you know, so thinking about I am I'm very curious the regional.

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So I, I, you know, I bring that to my teaching as well in my teaching style.

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I'm curious. I want to know what your learning. I want you to know I want to know how I can give you skills and maybe not give you skills,

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but give you opportunities, opportunities to to learn skills that will keep you asking questions, you know?

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And part of asking questions is one I mean, ask the question is one way of really sharpen your critical thinking, you know,

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going outside of the thinking, outside of the box, thinking what else is out there, what else can we learn, What else can we help?

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Else can we look at things?

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So I'm very big on critical thinking and, you know, having a very curious, healthy curiosity to wanting to learn new things.

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So I bring that into my classroom in the in the kind of assignment that I, you know, that I give out to students,

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which you probably would find my you know, sometimes, I mean, in two months time, I believe, you know, you would see how that would play out.

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I want to see, you know, you're learning all this all this concept.

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How can you apply them? How can you make your mind really curious to really use what you're learning?

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I'm also big on community collaboration.

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You know, I believe strongly that each person needs another person.

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We all are connected. I believe in in the in the interconnectedness of of human beings.

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You know, I believe that there is no one person we can say I may be myself or that I can make it myself.

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And so I bring that into a classroom as well.

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Because in the world, in the in the workplace, you're going to have to rely on other people.

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So I ensure that we are sort of, you know, modeling what is how they in the workplace, in the classroom as well.

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So how are you able to work with other people in the classroom, for instance, you know, how are you able to communicate your differences?

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Because you have those, you know, in the classroom, try able to interact, engage with other people respectfully.

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You know, how are you able to just bring all of these things together in the classroom?

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So these three concepts are really important to me as an individual, but also as a teacher.

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And I bring this three things into the classroom so that I would say, I mean,

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those things I would say really dry my teaching style, you know, So in the classroom, my classroom, we are doing things.

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We are always doing things, always finding answers to questions.

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We're always thinking, you know, we're always trying to be as creative as possible, but not working in silos,

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working together with one another, you know, because that's that's how the world is.

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So I mean, I don't know if it's unfortunate.

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Unfortunate, but that's that's how the world is is structured, working the in on one another to achieve common goals.

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So you believe in group projects then? Yeah, sure.

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I do believe in group project. I mean I know that strange students something and really do have a hard time working

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in groups I date has I mean I'm very I'm just honest Heidi has as as a students well

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not all through my my student she primacy but a lot of my students think career I also

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I also have that hesitation to work in groups but with time I realize that you know.

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Going to work by yourself whether you own a business.

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I mean, you want a business, You're not working by yourself. You need people.

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You're asking somebody to do something for you. You know, you might be the one sending all the emails.

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You might be the one talking to your clients. You know what?

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What a view. But still, you need somebody to do something for you that you cannot possibly do by yourself, you know?

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So I do believe in group projects. I do believe, however, that each person is responsible for their growth, for their education.

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We all need to contribute to help ourselves learn to grow.

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However, each person needs to advocate for himself or herself and be sure that they are learning in the beginning whatever it is they need to to gain.

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So if you're in a group and it's your responsibility, we expect that if you're if you're a member of a group that you are pulling your weight.

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If you're doing what you need to do in the group to help the other people in the group,

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to learn to, you know, to sort of help their education, their education in that sense.

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But I also believe strongly that you are responsible for what you take out of the group.

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So if you don't add on, if you don't participate, if you don't engage,

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it's just unfortunate, you know, then it's the same thing outside in the workplace.

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You know, if you're working on a team project in a company, it's your responsibility to, you know, to have your quarter to that project.

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So it's, you know, so it it succeeds. But whatever you get out of that projects your responsibility.

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So if you're going to be a laggard and you're not going to do what you need to do, fine, the project can suffer,

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but you also would suffer at the end of the day because you're not gaining anything out of that, out of that process.

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So so yeah, I do believe in good projects, but I also believe that each individual have a role to play.

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Initially, sometimes when I see group projects like on Syllabus, I'm like, Oh,

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that's because I just have had experiences where people just their communication

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is poor and then I'm one of those probably overachiever students where I'm like,

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Let's get this started. And I'm like, Where is everybody? You know?

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But I do understand that, you know, like you said, we need community, we need each other.

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And if you're working in a team environment, you're going to have to put your differences aside and learn how to work together.

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And so that's the whole point of a group project, too, is to work together, learn together,

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but at the same time making sure you hold yourself accountable and in all of that.

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So that's that's really good. What classes are you teaching right now or going to be teaching that you're excited about?

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Or just tell us what you're teaching? I'm teaching public relations.

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I'm teaching a class on platforms. I'll be teaching the social media management class.

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I'm excited about that. I'm teaching. Then I'll be teaching in spring.

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I'll be teaching the Introduction to Mass communication class.

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I am super excited about that one. And also data analysis and communication.

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So those are the classes I'll be teaching this academic year In terms of my excited about them.

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I really am excited about them. I'm looking forward to I'm always excited about new classes or the start of a school year, you know, things like that.

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Because I enjoy teaching, I enjoy learning.

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So and teaching is a way for me to also learn, learn what students are bringing to the table, what students know, you know, and helping to, you know,

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just guide, you know, guide students, you know, into into learning and and getting, you know, having good experiences, good college experiences.

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So I'm excited about this classes. I want to be teaching social media.

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You're teaching some PR right now in the spring.

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You're going to be teaching some day and you're going to be teaching an introductory course and how excited you are.

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So of those four that you just mentioned now, I understand that some of them are in the future and you haven't even started teaching those yet.

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Are there any of those that you're like, Oh, I really can't wait for that one.

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Or every student should take this class. And here's why.

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I don't know. I don't know that I have that. I feel that way about any of the classes, and that's been very fruitful.

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I think that I just I'm just excited about all the classes.

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I feel like each class as something unique.

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And because of that, it just I mean, the excitement is just the same for me.

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It's not like one I'm excited about one more than the other.

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I do like to teach on the graduate classes. Introductory classes don't, and the reason is because undergraduate classes are fun.

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Yes, they often they, classes, you know you have the students will like it's the start of a new life for them, you know.

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And so they are getting introduced to some of these topics in in a particular subject area.

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And it's so fascinating to see how they are thoughts in terms of maybe doing like graduate classes or undergraduate classes.

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I like both, but I do do love the opportunity to meet weed on The Graduate,

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just starting off and just seeing the excitement and to see how the the thoughts get refined.

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Their thoughts about the subject area now gets refined as the semester goes by.

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That's really an exciting opportunity for me.

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Are there any books that you recommend for your students to read then, and when I ask?

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This is not necessarily a books for your classes,

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like maybe even books for just life or something you enjoy for fun or something every young person should have on the shelf any that you recommend.

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I'm always torn between should I recommend fiction nonfiction because I'm very big on fiction, especially crime and legal trailers.

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That's my that's that's that's what I roll, you know, tons of books to recommend nonfiction fiction out.

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Tell anybody to go read any book by John Grisham, like he's the best guy ever.

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So, I mean, absolutely. They absolutely recommend him.

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I know this is work can be pretty tough to read.

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You know, it's not not the language, but like the the issues that he writes about.

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Pretty tough topics, too, just when you think about them.

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But I do think that those stories, even though the I mean, a lot of them are fiction,

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I think that is really can really help a person to have maybe, you know, a great appreciation for life,

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great appreciation for for maybe whatever it is that you that you have, you know, and also a great appreciation for where we are,

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not as, as, as a society, you know, So so yeah, I do recommend John Grisham books.

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I would recommend The Alchemist. Um hum.

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Follow. I think that's a great, great book.

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I think it's a book that people need to read just for especially young people, you know, just for the sheer brilliance.

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I mean, not just for the sheer brilliance of the writing, but also for the the core, the plot of the book.

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You know, it's a book about plays in your dream, you know, staying true to yourself, you know, looking forward to not be swayed.

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Because many things that happen, you know, in life, you know, there'll be distractions in life,

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but just staying true to what you want and going after what you want.

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I think it's important that especially in today's today's world where, you know, distractions are like ten a penny, you know, so under the penny.

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So you really want to stay true to what you believe and just, you know, be focused the timing and go after your dreams.

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Music by Cody M Johnson and Tyler Absent. James is licensed through AP Music.