Mamobo Ogoro on Finding Your Community and Becoming the Person You’re Meant to Be

"As a child I was always asking questions, I was always curious, I was always asking why.”

Mamobo Ogoro’s curiosity was in a permanent state of alert long before she embarked upon third-level education. As she says: “There's a phrase in Nigerian dialect called "oversabi". It means you're a know-it-all and I was always told that as a child."

But children who have a lot to say often grow into adults who foster important conversations. At UL, Mamobo found a community ready to listen.

“I think coming to UL it really helped me foster this sense of curiosity; asking questions and having ways that I could answer those questions.”

The first Sanctuary PhD Fellow at the University of Limerick, Mamobo was born in Nigeria and raised in Ireland since the age of three. Her research interests include multicultural identities, discrimination, integration, inclusivity and diversity.

Mamobo took her desire to have important conversations one step further by founding Gorm Media, which is, in her words, “developing, impact-focused digital media company that curates common ground through conversations that matter.”

"I think coming to UL really helped me foster this sense of curiosity…"

Mamobo explains: “I started Gorm Media out of frustration mainly. We started in October 2020. At that time there was a lot of polarising online discourse that was going on, with a lot of divisions, a lot of debate, a lot of argument that was happening and as a Social Psychologist all we want to do is create positive intergroup contact. We do a lot of that in physical spaces so I thought to myself, how do I create positive intergroup contact in a digital space?”

While working on the development of this project, Mamobo found the culture of community in UL an immense support. She said: “In developing the project further I really hacked into my UL community and spoke with people in my surroundings. I didn't realise there was such an abundance of resources.”

Reflecting on her experience to date, Mamobo considers how formative her time in University of Limerick has been. “I came to UL when I was 17 years old and since then I've really developed and really grown into the person that I am now, with the support of UL.

“So, UL really babied me I believe, and really helped encase the person I am and really helped me grow into the researcher, the social entrepreneur and the woman that I am today.”

If you’re curious about what you might achieve through postgraduate studies, you’ll have all the support you need at University of Limerick. #StayCurious

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