By Mercy Olabiyi
Recognition came knocking for a dedicated campus journalist as her consistency and bold storytelling earned her a spot among the CJA2025 nominees. The Youth Digest Initiative Campus Journalism Awards (CJA) is an annual event organized by Youths Digest to recognize and celebrate excellence in campus journalism across Nigeria. The 2025 edition, themed "AI and the Future of Journalism," focused on the role of student journalists in the current media landscape and had an entry period from October 1st through 14th, 2025. The event is designed to support and motivate student journalists, providing them with skills and recognition for their work.
The Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nasels Communication Bureau, Mercy Ojegbola applied, and, fortunately, she was nominated and recognised at the Broadcaster category. When interviewed, Mercy Ojegbola stated her encounters by sharing her experience with the application process for the Campus Journalism Awards (CJA), highlighting the difficulties she faced and how she overcame them. She explained that the initial challenge was technical, as her submissions could not go through the designated broadcast email address. She said, 'I had issues when I was trying to apply for the awards because each time I tried to send in my entry through the mail that was given for the broadcast, I'm going to get a rejection mail in which it keeps saying the mail I'm trying to send my entry to is full. So, I later used the link.' By switching to the provided online link, she was able to successfully submit her work despite repeated setbacks.
Her motivation to persist came from a deep belief in the importance and relevance of her work. Mercy revealed that her project focused on exploring nepotism and societal abnormalities that are often accepted as normal. She stated, 'I knew what I worked on was a very nice thing. Personally, I have discovered lately that I like to explore abnormalities that we have seen as normal things in our society. The topic I worked on and submitted was nepotism. I decided to explore whether it is part of our culture or not.'
She further expressed that her desire to create wider awareness pushed her forward, 'The more we see certain things as negative things, the more we pay attention to them, and after working on it. I think it shouldn't just end in my friend's group or class group. It should go as far as it is. That was what motivated me, too.'
On the personal and professional impact of the nomination, Mercy described it as a major milestone and source of encouragement. She shared, 'It's more like the beginning of something I would love to do for a long time, and I have just done the first edition of it, and the first edition got me nominated for an award.' She further emphasised its significance, saying, 'So, it means a lot to me personally, and it is an encouragement for me that I can do more. The vision is achievable.'
Mercy Ojegbola’s experience shows that she is strong, determined, and passionate about making a difference. Her nomination is not just an award moment but the start of a meaningful journey in journalism.

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