Daniel Otto

Daniel Otto
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Born	1994/03/05 Juba, South Sudan
💼 Occupation

Early Life

Daniel Lubangakene Otto "Lubangakene Daniel Ongom" is a Sudan born entrepreneur, author, linguistics and a former athlete for the Nebraska Cornhuskers of the of the Big Ten Conference. He is a member of the Acholi people in Uganda, United States of America and Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan.

Daniel was born to Paul and Josephine Otto in Juba, South Sudan. Facing persecution, the family fled to Uganda to escape the Second Sudanese Civil War. Otto spent his childhood in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement. A refugee camp in Hoima District in Western Uganda. In November 2003, the UNHCR relocated the family to the United States when he was nine years old. The family eventually joined many other Sudanese refugees in Nebraska.

College and Sports

Otto joined the 2013-2014 huskers track and cross country team from Lincoln Northeast High Schoolwhere he posted a personal-best of 1:55.48 at the 2013 NSAA Track and Field Championships, 1:57.11 at the Norfolk Invitational and a fourth place finish in the 800 meters with a time of 1:58.36 at the 2013 Nebraska District A-4 Championships. Otto was a two-time captain in cross country and track and field while running for the rockets. He was a three-time Nebraska State championships qualifier, earning two medals at the state meet. The South Sudan native did not compete in 2013. Daniel redshirted after suffering an early season injury in 2013 but chose not to return to the team for the 2014 year due to concerns about aggravating existing injuries.The oldest of six children, Otto continued to pursue degrees in accounting, economics, and political science after walking away from college sports. On August 3, 2014, Otto was featured in the Lincoln Journal Star in which he mentioned that "his college education is as much about being a role model to his younger siblings as it is achieving his own goals".

In 2017, Otto joined Lincoln Literacy Council, a multi-award-winning nonprofit formed to teach the English language to immigrants and refugees arriving in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a volunteer instructor, he developed and maintained relationships with students from Iraq, Mexico, Ukraine, Ethiopia, and China. The nonprofit experience made a positive impact on Daniel. When the Trump administration began tightening immigration policies, and the U.S economy began to show signs of labor shortage, Otto later indicated that Otto Recruitment & Consulting's values of community and diversity were inspired by his time at Lincoln Literacy Council. "We're the future workforce — Arabs, Vietnamese, Mexicans, people of different faiths. Everyone's tolerance is being tested." Otto was quoted in a 2017 Dallas Morning News article. The story was picked up by more than 50 media outlet around the country.After finishing his coursework in economics, Otto was among nearly 3,200 graduates who received degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during commencement exercises. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne delivered the address at the undergraduate commencement and received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the university. The graduates were from 60 countries, 46 states and the District of Columbia, and 250 Nebraska communities.

Personal Life

Daniel is the son of Paul and Josephine Otto. The family migrated to the United States in 2003 and joined many other Sudanese refugees in Nebraska. The oldest of six, Otto has a younger sister, Elizabeth who is a Ronald McNair scholar at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In the summer of 2018, under the guidance of Dr. David DiLillo, she conducted academic research on sexual objectification and sexual assault among African American college students. The study examines African American women’s sexualization in hip-hop music through testing implicit biases: Otto's uncle is the Luo writer, Taban Ongee, a South Sudanese Australians, he is the author of the dictionary "Acholi Dictionary-English (Acoli Edition)".Otto is an Acholi of Luo descendant.

References

"Daniel Otto". Nebraska Huskers. http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=209227170.

• Jump up ↑ REED, Anna (Mar 30, 2013). "LPS Open". Lincoln Journal Star. https://journalstar.com/lps-open/image_d53e37c3-aefa-5a87-8afe-f519aa3db153.html.
• Jump up ↑ KLECKER, MARA (Oct 11, 2014). "Tent brings awareness to refugees' plight". Lincoln Journal Star. https://journalstar.com/news/local/tent-brings-awareness-to-refugees-plight/article_e22d5e24-e972-5f24-a4ad-71d7044f89b8.html.
• Jump up ↑ "2013 NSAA State Track & Field Meet Results CLASS A BOYS". Nebraska School Activities Association. https://nsaa-static.s3.amazonaws.com/textfile/track/abres13.html.
• Jump up ↑ "Track". Sioux City Journal. Apr 20, 2013. https://siouxcityjournal.com/sports/agate/track/article_d8cf2423-6ec6-52e4-91a2-d05046080c73.html.
• Jump up ↑ "Nebraska prep boys track and field leaders, April 25". The World-Herald. Apr 24, 2013. https://www.omaha.com/neprepzone/prepzone/nebraska-prep-boys-track-and-field-leaders-april/article_c24c3dfb-84db-5b51-81d8-7296c0ff79eb.html.
• Jump up ↑ "Daniel Otto Track & Field Profile". RunnerSpace.com. https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Athlete.aspx?AID=2126537#!/L4.
• Jump up ↑ Dunker (Aug 3, 2014). "Low-income scholarship program scrambling as federal, state funds dry up". Lincoln Journal Star. https://journalstar.com/news/local/education/low-income-scholarship-program-scrambling-as-federal-state-funds-dry/article_7f256ef1-55d5-5a46-8611-91e0e58f42f5.html.
• Jump up ↑ CORCHADO, ALFREDO (2018-05-17). "Even as Trump tightens immigration, the U.S. labor shortage is becoming a crisis". The Dallas Morning News. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/immigration/2018/05/17/even-trump-tightens-immigration-us-labor-shortage-becoming-crisis.
• Jump up ↑ CORCHADO, ALFREDO (May 23, 2018). "Even as Trump tightens immigration, Lincoln situation shows U.S. labor shortage is becoming a crisis". Dallas Morning News. https://journalstar.com/business/local/even-as-trump-tightens-immigration-lincoln-situation-shows-u-s/article_51e4b285-6bc5-5a52-92f8-45a2a9ade4b9.html.
• Jump up ↑ Hagewood, Sean. "Nebraska in the national news: May 2018". University Communication. https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/nebraska-in-the-national-news-may-2018/.
• Jump up ↑ "Daniel Otto of Lincoln receives University of Nebraska-Lincoln degree". Merit Pages, Inc. https://unl.meritpages.com/stories/Daniel-Otto-of-Lincoln-receives-University-of-Nebraska-Lincoln-degree-/10856902. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
• Jump up ↑ "McNair Graduating Scholars". UNIVERSITY of NEBRASKA–LINCOLN. https://www.unl.edu/mcnair/scholars.
• Jump up ↑ “Oh my God, Becky, Look at Her Butt!”: Examining African American Women’s Sexualization in Hip-hop music Through Testing Implicit Biases Elizabeth Otto, Michelle Haikalis, and Dr. David DiLillo
• Jump up ↑ Ongee, Taban (January 1, 2018). Acholi Dictionary -English (Acoli ed.). Perth, Australia: Africa World Books Pty Ltd. pp. 136. ISBN 978-0648242239.

• Jump up ↑ Ongee, Taban (2018-02-06). Acholi Dictionary -English (Acoli Edition). ISBN 978-0648242239.

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