When it came time to choose a college, Southwest Baptist University was not on Daniel
Ogunyemi’s radar. In fact, Daniel ’15 had never even heard of SBU and wasn't entirely
sure where Missouri was, let alone, Bolivar, Missouri.
It wasn't until Daniel received an offer to play basketball that Daniel would venture outside of his home state of Louisiana in pursuit of a basketball scholarship.
“I was actually going to school in Louisiana, probably more so on academic scholarships,” Daniel said. “I’d really never heard of Missouri, but having the opportunity to visit, honestly, it was really my last chance to play college basketball, which was a really big goal of mine.”
Once he was on campus, Daniel was “immersed in the basketball culture,” which included a lot of practice, games and travel. As he also pursued his bachelor’s degree in psychology, Daniel honed his time-management skills, which has served him well in his career as a volunteer coordinator for CASA of Southwest Missouri (Court Appointed Special Advocates), which supports children in foster care.
Daniel felt well-prepared for his career – academically, personally and spiritually – and, being from a small town in Louisiana, he especially enjoyed the smaller campus and class sizes SBU offers.
“I love the small-town feel and I love the small-school feel,” Daniel said. “Coming to SBU was really a Godsend because my options were a few bigger schools that I don’t know if I would have had the focus and the discipline necessary to complete my degree. With SBU, it was very helpful that it is a Christian school. I’m a PK (preacher’s kid), so coming to a Christian school really helped not only ground me as a Christian but helped me really start understanding about Christianity – what it means to live a saved life as a young adult, and how to conduct yourself in that manner, whether you’re playing sports, are in the classroom, or in the community.
“The support here, in general, learning the things that I learned by being a college athlete and all of that really helped prepare me for what the mission says, “to be a servant leader in a global society.”
In addition to his career as a volunteer coordinator for CASA, Daniel also serves a number of different organizations in the Springfield, Mo., area including Forward SGF and the Mayor’s Commission on Human Rights and Community Relations.
Daniel also has been named a finalist for the 2020 Southwest Missouri Nonprofit Excellence Awards as an Emerging Leader of the Year. The award recognizes “passionate, dedicated individuals and organizations that strive to make our community a better place to live, work and play.”
One of the service areas Daniel most recently joined is serving on SBU’s Alumni Association Board – a role he takes seriously.
“First of all, SBU is what got me here, it got me to Missouri, helped me meet my wife and now we have a family,” Daniel said. “I owe a lot to being here; I’m here because of SBU. I feel an obligation to give back to a school that gave so much to me. I was blessed enough to not owe anything after I graduated from SBU, and it’s because people invested in my future here at SBU. I really appreciate that and it’s the least I can do to give back, to lead Chapel and use the gifts that I’ve been given to try to do more and progress SBU’s mission.
“SBU gave me a chance, and I’m forever indebted.”