“Keep striving, for God gives His hardest battles to His strongest soldiers” – Habeeb Akande
Simon-Peter Omooba grew up in a Nigerian and Christian household in East London, UK, where he spent his childhood and adolescence. For Simon, his parents, and both his older sisters, their Faith had uplifted them through hard times and established the foundation of their work ethics. “Keep striving” are words that Simon lived by and from his youth he was taught that there will never be free handouts, but all things must be earned. Although not everyone in life has fair beginnings, from finances to racial class, Simon refused to use that as a crutch but learned to take pride in who is he. This drove him to become multidisciplinary, tackling several skills and professions. Simon also enjoyed having an active lifestyle to keep his body and health as sharp as his mind. “I played a lot of sports growing up but I was most successful playing soccer, (which should be called football)” Simon remarked. While many people played casually or on school teams, Simon took this a step further! He was fortunate enough to land several contracts while he was in England to play soccer semi-professionally. He continued to play soccer when enrolling at NYIT; one of his highlight was in the 2018 to 2019 season where he played Forward/Winger; he played 19 games scoring 16 goals and making 3 assists.
Semi-professional soccer player, Simon-Peter playing at NYIT during 2018-2019 season.
(Photo is courtesy of Simon-Peter Omooba)
Referee call during soccer match.
(Photo is courtesy of Simon-Peter Omooba)
Despite all the focus Simon placed on playing soccer, he managed to maintain a healthy and efficient balance between that and his academics. This raises the question of what led Simon to come enroll in a college that specializes in architecture? Simon had and still has a deep love for product design and engaged in this primarily whilst he resided in the UK. His love for details and spatialization caused Simon to grow fascinated with problem solving. His father took notice to this and encouraged him to become an architectural design professional. ” I’ve always been a photographer” Simon exclaimed; “trying to capture special moments in time, as well as having an admiration for graphics and the process of problem solving. Architecture was the perfect field to hone in on all of these interests whilst designing for the tomorrow.” Architecture became a means where Simon could utilizes his skills and interest while doing a meaningful work for others who do not have the ability to do so themselves. This led to his decision to come to New York to continue playing soccer while moving forward in his aspiration to become an architect.
Simon enrolled in NYIT’s 5-year program graduating with his Bachelor’s in architecture in 2020. ” I hope to eventually further develop my architectural photography business and grow a clientele portfolio of the next generation of Architects and designers” Simon passionately shared. Multidisciplinary is far from an understatement when it comes to describe Simon; Simon started his own photography page on Instagram called spo.creative where he features beautiful pieces of portrait, landscape and architectural photography (an added bonus being some beautiful hand made models. Check out his work by clicking on the hyperlink). Simon’s hard work not only landed him his degree, but also a job at the prestigious firm KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates) where he works as a Junior architect to this very day. One of the biggest things that Simon emphasizes to his peers and other young black man is to “discipline yourselves.” While there may be racial disparities socially, economically and even academically, when you work relentlessly for a particular goal, Simon says, “[the doors that you knock on will open
themselves for you].”
Q + A Time
You’re an extremely motivated and self-driven man. How did you discipline yourself maintain such a high level of focus?
“I believe focus and discipline are such hard traits to master, but in order to attempt to, you need to master the small day to day battles. Creating a schedule and working each day to hit your goals. Whether it be waking up at 6am everyday to workout, or even simply dedicating an hour a day to reading. I think setting these small goals and working towards them each day will eventually get you to a desired state of focus and motivation. Also, understanding your why, why do you wake up each day and do what you do, and what do you believe your purpose to be.” – Simon Omooba
Great advice, “the early bird catches the worm” as is commonly said. What do you wish for other young black men such as yourself to take away from Black History Month? Please share some advice.
“If there’s one thing I wish young black men could take from this BHM it’s that we need to take charge. One thing I’ve learnt is that yes the world can be a disgusting and cruel place, and yes we will face inequality and discrimination day in and day out. But no one is going to give us a single thing for free and no one feels sorry for us. We must work tirelessly to better ourselves and demand more from ourselves. Only then can we demand the true respect we all deserve. I ask us young black men to love ourselves and really work for what we want, then we’ll knock on whatever door it is we want opened.” – Simon Omooba
What an incredible and inspirational response! Indeed we have to work for the respect we want and hard work can open many doors! Also, you seem to be a man of faith. Do you testimonials have any testimonials to share with all of us?
“I truly believe that whatever battles we face, God has equipped us with the strength and will power to overcome it. As humans we are oozing with self-doubt and negativity, feeling sorry for ourselves and hopeless when things go wrong. God’s got us, he won’t bring on any trials or tribulations we can’t overcome. So let go and let God, trust in Him and he will surely direct your path.” – Simon Omooba
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