Kierra Eyiuche is capturing every moment by being a Black voice in student media. She does it all and loves what she does. As the digital content manager for The Daily Toreador, Eyiuche puts in the hard work.
Kierra Eyiuche is a second-year creative media industries major who initially did not think she was going to be in the College of Media & Communication.
From Wichita Falls, Eyiuche said she thought she was going to be in the medical field.
However, after attending the Raider Land experience and meeting with CoMC organizations,
a new pathway opened up for her.
“I was already doing photography and I was in love with it,” Eyiuche said.
Eyiuche said she spoke with CoMC representatives, and they told her about the opportunities
she would have in her career with photography.
“At that moment, I was thinking I just want to actually follow my dreams,” Eyiuche
said. “Most of my life, like I wasn't really presented the opportunity, so I was like,
you know, like this time I'm going actually try to like follow my dreams, as cliche
and cheesy as it sounds. I was like, I'm going do that.”
That day, Eyiuche joined the CoMC student group and changed her major at Red Raider
Orientation.
Eyiuche said being part of The Daily Toreador has given her the opportunity to celebrate Black History Month more than ever. As
the digital content manager for the school newspaper, she said she created social
media posts and a page in the recent centennial paper.
She said this year, she has truly gotten immersed in celebrating the holiday and getting
deep with her African culture. A major Black influence for Eyiuche is Tupac.
“Without a doubt, he was the one thing that actually like was able to open my eyes,” Eyiuche said.
Another Black figure that inspired Eyiuche is local. At the Black Cultural Center,
Uriel Onye is an assistant librarian in multicultural services who told Eyiuche to
take pride in her Nigerian culture.
While Eyiuche is now representing her culture to the fullest, it was not always an
easy task to do growing up. In school, Eyiuche said she experienced microaggressions
with her last name.
“People would just make those weird comments about my name,” Eyiuche said. “My coaches
and my teachers, they would solely only call me by my last name when they could definitely
just call me by my first name, but they just wanted to call me by my last name, and
they just would pronounce it wrong.”
Eyiuche said having her name on cutlines from the photos she takes spelled correctly
is a big win for her. In high school, every year in the yearbook, somewhere her name
was spelled wrong. She said one of the most disappointing experiences about her name
was when she won the “Bigger than Yourself Award” in the eighth grade.
“It's a district award that you get,” Eyiuche said. “And I remember I got it, and
I was so happy because whenever you get it, they make it such a big deal. And on the
plaque, it's [my name] spelled wrong.”
Eyiuche said she is setting the standards for the future of The Daily Toreador when it comes to the Black community. By not limiting herself, she said she has been
able to grow into a stronger person.
“Just [don't] be afraid and don't think that your Blackness is something that's like kryptonite, if anything, it makes you stronger.”
“I feel like already as a Black woman in college, there's already standards and limitations
that people already set you up to have,” Eyiuche said. “And so then it's like, whatever
standards are already set for a position and I feel like I have to do five times better
than that.”
Eyiuche said she is not only making the DT a better place with her in it but doing
it for herself. While currently being the only Black person in the newsroom, she said
she finds herself on what she can prove to herself as a minority in this position.
She said she could not have even imagined herself to be in the position she is now
and far she had grown. Eyiuche did not even think she would be interviewing Joey McGuire
or having athletes repost her photos.
“A lot of people are probably scared and think, ‘It's intimidating to be the only
Black person',” Eyiuche said.
“But I feel like for other people who may come to the DT that you being Black is not your only identity here.”
Eyiuche said she may be the only Black person at the DT, but she's making a name for
herself because of what she can offer. She said others should recognize what they
could do too and not let the fear of being the only Black voice hold them back. She
said she almost let fear hold her back and she would not be in the position she is
in today if she did.
“Just [don't] be afraid and don't think that your Blackness is something that's like
kryptonite, Eyiuche said. “If anything, it makes you stronger.”
[Read more stories about Black excellence in the College of Media & Communication.]