Ronnie Mayanja has worn many hats in his life.

He’s worked as a disk jockey, an on-air personality, and is an entrepreneur. In his newest role as the managing editor and creative designer of UNAA Times Magazine: Your Voice in the Diaspora, he set out to publish a magazine that tackled political, cultural and social issues affecting Africa in a quarterly periodical.

“I’m very ambitious. I’ve done a lot of work in media and now I want to help my people get a voice,” Ronnie said regarding the motivation to pioneer such a magazine.

The fourth of six children, Ronnie was born in Eldoret Kenya, to Aida Namukwaya and the late Gideon Kasolo Mayanja of Nansana Kyadondo on August 16th. His family moved from Uganda to Eldoret to escape the brutal rule of former president Idi Amin. After the fall of his regime in 1979 they returned to Uganda.

Ronnie attended kindergarten at Tower Nursery School in Kampala and then attended Shimon Demonstration School in Uganda for his primary school education. He soared academically and aspired to become an attorney. But Ronnie would later see how his father’s interest in world affairs would trickle down to him and build the foundation for his later interest in a career in media.

“I remember spending evenings with my father listening to Chris Pilkington’s show “Focus on America,” on BBC International Radio,” he recalled.

Mr. Mayanja passed away on September 14, 1987, but these intimate evenings Ronnie shared with him and visits to the United States Information Center to watch Peter Jennings’ evening news program “World News Tonight,” would crystallize his ambition to be on television one day.

Although drowning in grief from the loss, Ronnie found solace in his mother’s encouraging words that “education does not lie.”

“When dad passed my mum told us [siblings] that the only way to success was to work hard in school and allow our academic excellence to open the doors of success,” Ronnie stated.

He put her words into practice. His persevering attitude earned him a seat at the prestigious King’s College Budo. There, he obtained his O & A level secondary education, which is the equivalent of a college education in the United States.

A passion for debating and politics blossomed during his time at Budo. Recognized for his strong debating skills and athletic promise as a 400-meter runner, Ronnie was no stranger on campus. His popularity would help him win the position as a student leader at the illustrious institution. He was elected "Mess Prefect" and given the responsibility of overseeing all the school meals and making sure that the school food maintained its food quality standards.

“This was astonishing for me because most of the kids that attended Budo were the children of top politicians, judges and the leaders included our President's son,” he said.

This position encouraged Ronnie to “step up” and to do things to the best of his ability.

After graduating from Budo, he spent the summer working part-time in the library for New Vision newspaper in Uganda. During that time the newspapers managing editor, William Pike, was starting one of the first private FM radio stations in Uganda. Along with his partner, Patrick Quakoo, Ronnie was given an opportunity to display his on-air skills. Without any prior training he got on air for the first time.

“It was one of the most disastrous moments of my life,” he recalled. “But this was another factor that changed my entire ambition of wanting to become a lawyer.”

After this experience, Ronnie’s passion for media heightened, but his government scholarship at Makerere University would not allow him to study in the communications field.

“The system was very narrow in terms of branching into what you want to be. Most students focused on the sciences, math, and architecture, while those who specialized in art subjects could only do law, Social work, Mass Communication and education for the specialized courses” he recalls.

But this did not stop him.

Before graduating in 1997 with a Bachelors of Arts in Education and a concentration in World History and World Revolutions, he participated in extracurricular activities on and off campus. Serving as the school’s Discipline Secretary of Livingstone Hall, Ronnie oversaw campus safety and worked with university law enforcement personnel. He also got a job as a disk jockey and hosted his own radio show called “Capital Gospel” on Sunday mornings for Capital FM located in downtown Kampala.

The live call-in show immediately became a flagship sunday morning show and ratings topped the roof, but it was not long before the go-getter was ready for a new challenge.

“After being on radio for four years I wanted to expand my talents into news,” Ronnie said.

In 1998 he got his chance in television.

The largest Christian television network in the world, the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), decided to launch its programming in Uganda. After meeting its founder, Paul Crouch, and the networks managing directors, Ronnie expressed his interest to be on air. He was hired as a part-time host for the current affairs program “Spotlight.” The show aired weekly on Lighthouse Television during prime time and discussed a range of issues including politics, economics, culture and religion.

He had also started doing consultation work and was instrumental helping launch a Christian FM radio station.

“I was approached by two local pastors who at the time were scouting for ideas on what it took to set up a Christian FM station,” he said. “They were interested in learning about start-up costs and how a radio station operated.”

In 1999, he partnered Joseph Sserwadda. Together they launched Impact FM, where he served as the first station manager. Ronnie also helped to shape the station’s programming and he helped recruit and train new staff.

Ronnie also found huge success in promoting gospel artists. With the support and encouragement of his home church, Kampala Pentecostal Church, and his Senior Pastor, Gary Skinner, Ronnie started his own company, Myers Inc. Promotions and got the opportunity to work with recording artists such as Ron Kenoly of Integrity Hosanna.

As co-founder of the umbrella group, United Artists Ministers (UAM), Ronnie worked to unite gospel artist in Uganda. Artists like Limit X radicalized secular beats in gospel music and took both the UK and the US gospel scenes by storm with a fusion of African and western beats. He also worked closely with several local artists such as Ken, the Black Sisters and First Love Ministries. Another venture he prides himself in is the creation Solid Rock entertainment and "Gospel Nite.”

“This is a place where Christian adults would go for alternative entertainment in a family-oriented environment with all the club like amenities like club lights and powerful sound, free from smoke and liquor,” he explained.

After working in Christian environments for the majority of his media career, Ronnie took a leap of faith and decided to diversify his demographic.

“There are a lot of limits in Christian broadcasting and I felt I could be a better asset being a Christian addressing secular audiences,” Ronnie said. “There are so many people they (Christians) can’t help because their target is Christians, but I wanted to cut across the board and help non-Christians too.”

Later that year Ronnie branched out. He joined WBS-TV in Uganda and quickly climbed the ladder. He went from Producer to the Head of Features, to the Assistant Station Manager all in under two years. He also became a talk show host for “Credentials” before switching to host the weekly current affairs program “Issues at Hand.”

WBS-TV gave Ronnie opportunities that most his age have yet to experience. In 1999 he covered the Buganda King’s, Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, royal wedding. This was one of the biggest events covered by foreign media in Uganda. Then in May of 2001 he covered the innauguration of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s second term at Kololo airstrip in Kampala which was attended by five different heads of state that included Col. Muamar Gadhafi the President of Libya. He also provided live commentary for the event.

Ronnie left WBS in 2001 and prepared to further his education. Before making the decision to pursue a master’s degree, The year before in 2000 he had attended training courses in newsgathering at the United States Telecommunications Institute (USTTI), Fox News, Black Entertainment Television (BET), and CNN. In June of 2005 he was invited to attend the “25 Years of CNN.”

“This provided me with an opportunity to meet the anchors and correspondents I admired like Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour,” he said. “I also had a chance to meet CNN's founder, Ted Turner. The experience was priceless.”

Ronnie also holds a high esteem for individuals like Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, tele-evangelists Joel Osteen and T.D. Jakes. He also credits his mother for giving him the inspiration to succeed.

Ronnie recently completed his degree at Boston University graduating with a Master’s of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism/Africa studies. His dream is to work in International affairs for either CNN or a major multinational corporation. It has been a life long ambition to make a difference on the African continent.

“I feel we as Africans need to have our voices heard in the international media,” he said. “We need to be able to tell our own story.”