Chinenyeze Iwu, a.k.a. CJ runs a vlog about his experiences at the American University of Nigeria (AUN) called AUNwithCJ. When CJ was a senior in high school and a high school graduate, he could not find any African American YouTuber or vlogger documenting what it’s like to study at any west African college.
While there were plenty of African college vloggers, he was looking specifically for someone who he could relate to for an idea of what it would be like for a student who was attending AUN. He searched extensively and thoroughly, but couldn’t find anyone that fit his loose criteria.
That is how CJ decided that, from his first day at AUN, he would be the one to fill that void so that someone who was in his shoes could be informed and get guidance from his experiences. Plus his naturally friendly, upbeat personality creates some very entertaining and relatable content!
The most exciting thing that’s happened thus far in AUNwithCJ was when a humongous wasp appeared in Chinenyeze’s dorm room. To some, this may not be a big deal. But to CJ, this was a huge deal! He had been stung literally on the head by a bee when he was very young, and I had an egg on his head so big that he wore a hat to school for a week.
Since then, he’s had a deep-rooted fear of bees, wasps, hornets, and anything of the sort. That’s why when CJ discovered the wasp in his dorm – especially one of those proportions – he got nervous to the point of making his first cinematic AUNwithCJ episode: Wasps. Rumor has it there’s another Wasps Cinematic in the pipeline!
While Chinenyeze is only 20 years old now, he is setting the bar for entrepreneurship among his generation. He sets an example for the kind of ingenuity that arises from wanting to alleviate the struggles he faced for others that come after him.
CJ fosters a community-building vibe in all the interactions he has whether the context is working out at the gym, passing through campus, AUNwithCJ, and a new project called “We asked AUN students” – abbreviated WAAUNS for short.
It’s a series that’s dedicated solely to showcase the thoughts and experiences of AUN students on specific topics. The first episode was of AUN students explaining their high school experiences. It allows AUN students to give their experiences a voice in a similar vein to how CJ voices his.
The standards CJ holds himself to are very high, so he keeps his content to a very high standard by extension. That’s why he puts so much effort into making sure the content he creates and puts out is something he can be proud of. When he gets ready to edit his content, he goes the extra mile to make sure it reaches his standard of quality or he won’t feel comfortable posting it.
However, to hit that threshold, it takes a lot of time and diligence to edit the content. Subtitles alone are what seems to take the longest because they’re the most monotonous to edit. However, that conscientious effort is what makes posting the content all the more satisfying for him.
With the will to uplift his peers, CJ is capturing the loyalty of followers who benefit from learning lessons with him virtually. His heartfelt advice is to prioritize GPA for when you apply to schools. “The benefits of having a good GPA in high school outweigh a mediocre GPA from taking classes that were too challenging.”
If it means taking easy classes, then take easy classes. Preferably, you’d want to take challenging courses and get good grades in those, but if push comes to shove, take manageable courses.
Chinenyeze Iwu is a totally down-to-earth guy whose preferred way to connect with people is through his Instagram. Reach out for a youthful, relatable type of wisdom.
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