The Work Didn’t Stop in America
During his time at Biola University, Ojeisekhoba worked hard to keep up with the unfamiliar coursework. Then, when it was discovered that he had taken classes in Nigeria and thus no longer qualified for the Biola athletic scholarship, Ojeisekhoba worked harder.

He managed to get a leadership grant that paid for most of his tuition, but still struggled to keep up with his payments. He worked on campus as a painter, a custodian, a package receiver, a librarian and eventually a student worker with the Campus Safety Department trying to make ends meet.

“I worked pretty much everywhere on campus, but I was going to school at the same time, so I was constantly tired,” Ojeisekhoba says.

Ojeisekhoba eventually received a graduate degree in international business from Biola and got a job as a bond writer for an insurance company. He hated it. After seven months he applied for a job at Biola’s Campus Safety Department, this time as a full time officer. He went from making $30 an hour to $9 an hour and says it was the best decision he’s ever made.

“I never looked back after that,” Ojeisekhoba says.

Ojeisekhoba Has a Big Family
Ojeisekhoba’s 17 siblings probably make up enough family for anyone, but after rising through the ranks in Biola’s Campus Safety Department to become chief in 2009, he has developed a tight bond with every part of the campus community.

These days, students affectionately refer to Ojeisekhoba as “Chief O” and frequently request his presence to judge various student events. As an adjunct faculty member teaching self-defense for women, Ojeisekhoba has personally instructed more than 1,500 students in rape prevention and risk avoidance techniques. Ojeisekhoba also created social media pages to make his department more approachable and established a student care team to stay informed of rising issues in the student community.

You can count the Campus Safety Department as another one of Ojeisekhoba’s families. The chief strives to put the department’s 18 officers in the best possible position to succeed. Officers earn valuable experience by rotating as assistants in the planning and coordination of large campus events and in joint training sessions with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The list of training programs his officers have completed include drug abuse recognition programs, Clery seminars, American Red Cross first aid courses, explosion recognition programs, disaster response sessions and many more.

With a keen sense of budgetary resources, Ojeisekhoba has successfully lobbied to get his department more patrol vehicles, higher quality soft body armor, ballistic helmets and a fully digital radio network, among other things. Ojeisekhoba’s also started a body-worn camera program that has been invaluable when dealing with students and in volatile situations.

In addition, he oversees an annual awards banquet to honor his employees and, if officers are working over a major holiday, they can expect their chief to provide traditional holiday meals. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that officer retention rates have more than doubled under Ojeisekhoba’s watch.

“In my mind my personnel come first,” Ojeisekhoba explains. “I can set all the strategies and plans I want, but if I don’t have the right people in place, I might as well flush the strategies down the toilet. My true champions are really my staff. They get the job done every day. If you invest in them and show them you care, then they take ownership of the job and the vision of the department.”

Of course Chief Ojeisekhoba also has a traditional family. The chief is quick to point out that he’d be nowhere without the support of his wife of 13 years and five children, whom he lives with in a house seconds away from campus.

Chief Has Created a Well-Oiled Machine
When Ojeisekhoba first started as chief, he realized his bold plans could only work in a more organized, efficient system. One night while out to dinner, the chief was considering the various roles of the Campus Safety Department. He grabbed a napkin, took out a pen and drew a triangle. On the three points he wrote Crime Prevention, Customer Based Services and Emergency Planning. It was the beginning of what has grown into Ojeisekhoba’s Campus Safety Model.

“That one piece of paper brought response guides, new systems and hundreds of documents, and now we have a strategy and a focus in all three of those areas,” Ojeisekhoba says. “It all took time and it was stressful, but now we’re at the stage of just oiling the machine because we’ve really established the model.”

To better implement the model, Ojeisekhoba increased the number of full time staff members in the department and created many new positions that focus on areas such as parking services, property and inventory control, community services and investigation. He also upgraded various security systems on campus, including video surveillance, access control and emergency response.

As a result, the lessons instilled in Ojeisekhoba from childhood can be seen in every aspect of his department.

“He’s always had a can-do attitude about whatever assignment was given to him, and I think that was in large part because of his background,” says Melvin Murdock, the former chief of police at Biola who promoted Ojeisekhoba up from a field officer. “I’ve never seen anyone with a higher degree of dedication than John Ojeisekhoba.”

Hard Work Pays Off
Chief Ojeisekhoba has overcome insurmountable odds, been awarded several commendations and reached the top of his profession, but that’s not what makes him smile. For Ojeisekhoba, all the hard work and long hours pay off once a year: at graduation.

“Every graduation ceremony there’s one place I always stand, and that’s where the students walk in,” he says with pride. “I stand there and give them their high fives and see the happiness in their faces and that’s my reward. They’re achieving their goals, and I know my department kept them safe and made that possible. There’s nothing I’d change if I could do it all over again.”

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