Draft:Olaolu Ogunyemi

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Olaolu Ogunyemi is an American author and active-duty Major in the United States Marine Corps. He is the author of multiple books and the founder of Parent-Child-Connect, an educational platform that provides resources for parents, teachers, mentors, and caregivers to connect with their children and create teachable, memorable experiences.

Early life and education

Ogunyemi was raised in Ruston, Louisiana and attended Simsboro High School. In December 2012, he graduated cum laude from Grambling State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems.[1] Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, becoming the first officer to commission from Grambling State University in over three decades.[2][3] In January 2022, journalist Julie Christie profiled Ogunyemi in the Shreveport Times, covering his military career and children's book publications.[4]

Career

Ogunyemi has served as a communications officer in the United States Marine Corps since 2012 and has attained the rank of Major. Following his commissioning milestone, he was featured as the front-cover subject for Pacesetter Magazine.[5] His military assignments have included several operational commands, including serving as the Communications Officer for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit during the 2024 Wasp Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) deployment to the European area of operations.[6] In 2022, he received the Mutter Marines Command and Control Writing Award from the Marine Corps University Foundation for his critical research on the current state of the Marine Corps' information technology architecture.[7]

In 2021, Ogunyemi established the Parent-Child-Connect platform to publish educational resources for family development. In February 2022, he was profiled by journalist Lindsay VanAsdalan in Washington Family Magazine as a featured "Parent You Should Know" for his advocacy work spanning military service and community leadership.[8] In 2023, he received his second writing award, a Bronze Medal in the Children's Picture Book category from the Readers' Favorite International Book Award Contest, for his children's book, Crow From the Shadow.[9]

Ogunyemi has contributed to national professional defense and business journals, analyzing leadership and technology architectures. His publications include:

  • "Parenting: Lessons Learned from a Deployed Father" in Military Families Magazine (June 2023)[10]
  • "Involuntary Sacrifice: How Military Parents Build Resilient Children" in Leatherneck Magazine (September 2024)[11]
  • "Leadership Lessons from the Gridiron" in Military Officer Magazine (Military Officers Association of America) (September 2022)[12]
  • "Recruit, Train, and Retain: A game plan to successfully compete in the global information technology battlespace" in the Marine Corps Gazette (February 2024)[6]
  • "Adapt or Perish: A call to revise the Marine Corps' C4 architecture" in the Marine Corps Gazette (October 2024)[13]

In May 2025, his leadership frameworks were featured in Forbes in an analysis of transparent organizational leadership by contributor Chris Westfall.[14]

In June 2026, he published the organizational leadership book Lead Last: Twenty-One Counterintuitive Principles for Becoming an Effective Leader through Amplify Publishing Group, drawing on his military and organizational experience.[15]

Bibliography

  • Crow From the Shadow (2021)
  • Horace the Horsefly (2022)
  • Billy Dipper's Time to Shine (2022)
  • Lead Last: Twenty-One Counterintuitive Principles for Becoming an Effective Leader (2026)

References

  1. https://www.marines.mil/Photos/?igsearch=officers&igphoto=2000003063
  2. https://www.militarynews.com/norfolk-navy-flagship/news/quarterdeck/grambling-state-graduates-first-marine-officer-in-more-than-30-years/article_29c1410b-dc17-5613-86a4-70409863ec73.html
  3. https://d34w7g4gy10iej.cloudfront.net/pubs/pdf_11578.pdf
  4. https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/life/2022/01/20/marine-officer-olaolu-ogunyemi-releases-trio-childrens-books/6556396001/
  5. https://www.6thmcd.marines.mil/In-the-News/Stories/Article/Article/518819/first-marine-officer-in-three-decades-commissioned-from-grambling-state-univers/
  6. Ogunyemi, Olaolu (February 2024). "Recruit, Train, and Retain". Marine Corps Gazette: WE8–WE11.
  7. https://mcufoundation.org/mcuf-2022-award-papers/
  8. https://www.washingtonfamily.com/parent-you-should-know-olaolu-ogunyemi/
  9. https://readersfavorite.com/2023-award-contest-winners.htm
  10. http://publications.militaryfamilies.com/june-2023/page-15
  11. https://online.publicationprinters.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=U.S.%20Military%20Publishing&edid=435ddd2b-b658-48e0-a824-6c18e52020da
  12. https://www.qgdigitalpublishing.com/article/Leadership+Lessons+from+the+Gridiron/4342162/760863/article.html
  13. Ogunyemi, Olaolu (October 2024). "Adapt or Perish". Marine Corps Gazette: 28–30.
  14. https://www.forbes.com/sites/chriswestfall/2025/05/14/how-to-stop-useless-meetings-new-structure-for-transparent-leadership/
  15. https://amplifypublishinggroup.com/product/nonfiction/business-and-finance/leadership-and-management/lead-last/

Category:Living people Category:United States Marine Corps officers Category:Grambling State University alumni Category:American children's writers Category:21st-century American writers Category:Writers from Louisiana Category:People from Ruston, Louisiana