Jerry Kenney: Ngozi tell us a little bit about yourself because I think for such a young person, you've got quite an extensive resumé behind you already.
Ngozi Cole: Thank you Jerry. So, I am from Freetown, Sierra Leone, and that's where I was born, grew up, and I came to the U.S. for college. I went to the College of Wooster in Ohio, very close to Cleveland. There I studied history and political science. I was always interested in storytelling, in journalism, but then I went back home and worked in international development for a while. I worked with organizations like Partners in Health and another NGO called Cordaid that was a Dutch NGO, and even then, I was always interested in storytelling. But then about two or three years ago, I decided to just give it a shot and apply to Columbia Journalism School, got in and moved to New York. But what year are we in?
But in the last year, in 2021, I moved to New York to get my master's in journalism, and yeah, I'm happy to be here at WYSO, graduated in May, applied for different jobs. Doing the interview I came to Yellow Springs, liked the place, everyone was so nice, and it was just really good vibes. And so, I decided to come here for my very first broadcast journalism job in the U.S.
JK: And how has it been at WYSO? Have we lived up to your expectations so far?
NG: Yeah, there was honestly a lot of hype when I told my friends and people around me that I was moving to Yellow Springs, to the Dayton area, they said, 'Oh yeah, that's where Dave Chappelle lives. You should look for Dave Chappelle.' But, you know, it's just been a really cool experience. Everyone has just been so cool to work with, and the WYSO news team has really lived up to all the expectations I had. I was able to, you know, I was willing to move here because I sensed that I would be a part of a very supportive team of people who would be really helpful in these early stages of my career, and just really looking out for very interesting stories as well. You know, I haven't been here for that long, but so far so good.
JK: And so, as a new person to the area, what has been your approach to getting familiar with what's happening in the region?
NG: So, the Dayton is a very interesting place to report from in terms of business and economics, because there's been a lot of change the past few years. And, you know, yes, we have seen companies sort of leaving. But interesting enough in my reporting so far, there's been so much investment and companies moving in, wanting to invest in the Dayton area workforce, giving people the tools that they need to reenter the workforce and really build their skills. So that I think there's a lot of innovation being done, there's a lot of growth that's happening, there's a lot of solutions being made as well as a very local level, but also regionally, and I think these stories really give me a lot of hope that Dayton is definitely a hub for innovation and expansion in this region.
And I think there's also so many other social issues that shouldn't be ignored, however. So, this week I'm attending the housing. There's a conference on housing and Housing and Justice in Miami Valley, and I'm really keen to sort of his stories of what people are going through. Of course, whenever there's very fast economic expansion, it may also lead to more inequality at times as we're looking at all those nuances and the impacts of this growth on a diverse range of people, what does it mean for ordinary Daytonians? What does it mean for people who live in the margins? Is this growth going to be inclusive of everyone? So, I'm really excited to dig deeper into some of these stories and get to learn about what's going on as a whole.
JK: How have you found the city personally because you're reporting on some of the businesses, but do you have some favorite spots that you've found within the city or interesting or organizations that have sparked your interest?
NG: Yeah. So, the Hub downtown is a really cool place to work. That's where the Entrepreneurs Center is. I Actually did a story about them last week where it was just different entrepreneurs who work with them, sharing their stories of growth, how they feel supported, and it was just a really nice, vibrant space to be in. I think downtown is just very easy to move around. Moving from a really big city, that can be overwhelming at times, to a much, I guess, saner environment has been, you know, really good for me, just like, you know, ease into life a bit more, get to know people a little bit more, get to explore places that are like 2 minutes, 5 minutes away from where I live downtown. I also went to Silent Disco two weeks ago, and that was so much fun. It's just nice to have everything really close by where I live. I no longer have to like, you know, drive somewhere for like 30 minutes to get entertainment. It's like right downtown.
JK: Ngozi, it's great to have you on staff. You're off to a great start. I encourage listeners to check out the reporting you've done on our website at WYSO.org, and thanks so much for joining us on WYSO Weekend.
NG: Thank you so much, Jerry.
