“Glutton for Punishment” - Joel Banjo-Johnson
“Glutton for Punishment”- Joel Banjo-Johnson
One word to describe Joel Banjo-Johnson it would be an overachiever. Joel may disagree with the remark, but it is apparently clear that she is a natural leader that’s filled with compassion and a drive to become successful.
“ I believe an over-achiever is more accurate, she attacks so many pursuits head on. Sometimes she doesn’t realize her limits and occasionally her aspirations backfire. But through it all she remains friendly, respectful and uses to her experiences to become stronger,” remarked her best friend and former classmate Sharon Singh.
Joel was born in London, England. She has traveled the European continent far and wide, which explains why she is tri-lingual and speaks fluent German, Italian, and English.
Joel hails from a military setting where her father served in the Navy. Often, military families relocate regularly, so Joel’s passion for travel stemmed from several duty stations spread across the European continent.
Family is a virtue that is stressed throughout the entire Banjo-Johnson family. In fact, they moved to the North Carolina to support Joel’s ambition to attend school in The United States. Joel ended up in Greenville by a series of strange yet correlated events.
During a trip to America with her family, they bumped into a fellow English woman at Raleigh-Durham airport, who insisted that the Banjo-Johnsons come visit her in Greenville. The family accepted the invitation.
In the course of her visit, Joel came across a former classmate. Joel’s classmate informed her of several mutual classmates from middle school who were enrolled at the same institution: East Carolina University. Joel applied for, accepted, and received an Air Force ROTC scholarship to East Carolina and determined that Greenville was her next destination.
“Joel is an excellent leader who is self-assured and knows what she wants,” said fellow ECU AFROTC Flight Commander, Ashley Swansiger.
Obviously, the apple does not fall far from the tree because Joel has been appointed as a flight commander for the East Carolina University Air Force ROTC, where she is held accountable for coordinating and training anywhere from 14 to 18 freshman and sophomore cadets. As a flight commander, Joel is responsible for proper delivery of the guidelines and lesson plans provided to her by East Carolina Air Force ROTC.
“A flight commander demands a lot of time because, you are responsible for the individual’s below you. Joel cares about her work, her cadets, and takes care of those in need 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” added Swansiger.
Joel’s accolades are hard to present without making one title seem more important over another. Last year, she was the Chief of Staff for East Carolina University’s Student Government Association (ASG). Joel is the Eastern Regional director of the UNC System Association of Student Governments as well.
“I am the liaison between the ASG President and the schools in the Eastern Region,” said Banjo-Johnson.
With all this activity Joel still manages to work in her spare time. She is involved in an after-school program where she mentors two elementary school girls. Joel really enjoys using her positive character to influence the lives of young children that need a role model.
Joel still finds the spare time to enjoy her hobbies and leisure pursuits as well as hang out with her friends. She enjoys listen to Rhythm and Blues, Gospel, Rock and Pop music. However, Joel has another passion that helps relieves stress from her hectic course load.
“Joel has a wonderful voice. She is an entertainer and loves karaoke. If you were to ask Joel to pick an occupation between a military official, politician, or Broadway performer; she would tell you a performer on Broadway,” said Singh.
It was not a surprise because of her English background, that Joel enjoys watching the game of football. She admitted she is an English National Football Team fan and a David Beckham fanatic. Joel’s uncle is a former member of the Nigerian National Football team. Through her past employments, she made people smile throughout the day with her energetic and enthusiastic charm.
Joel’s short term plans are to obtain her degree in Communication and German, with honors of course, acquire a job and live in large city. It does not take a genius to predict that this bright, dedicated, virtuous, social individual is not far from both immediate and permanent success.
Sources:
Sharon Singh Interviewed
Ashley Swansiger Interviewed
Filed under: Classmate Profiles