Research & Academic Work
I’m applying for PhD research exploring how digital storytelling shapes sustainable tourism destination identities. My research focuses on visitor-generated content, which are the stories tourists tell through TikTok, Instagram, and review platforms and how these narratives construct, challenge, or transform how destinations are understood and experienced.
I’m particularly interested in the intersection of digital narratives, sustainability discourse, and place-making in urban tourism contexts, using multimodal discourse analysis and semiotic approaches to understand how meaning circulates across platforms and shapes destination perceptions.
Academic Background
Master’s in Sustainable Tourism Management
Politécnico de Leiria, Portugal (2023)
Dissertation: The Green Place: An Ecolodge in Ikogosi-Ekiti
This business plan dissertation developed a sustainability-focused ecolodge concept for Ikogosi-Ekiti, Nigeria, integrating eco-certification standards, community partnerships, and destination storytelling strategies. The project explored how sustainable tourism enterprises can contribute to destination identity while supporting local communities and environmental conservation.
Key themes: Sustainable tourism development, eco-certification, community engagement, destination branding, environmental storytelling
Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics
University of Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria (2010)
Dissertation: Wh-Movement in Ayere
This linguistic fieldwork project analyzed syntactic structures in Ayere, an under-documented Nigerian language. Using qualitative coding and syntactic analysis with native Yoruba speakers, the research examined question formation and movement patterns, contributing to the documentation of minority languages.
Key themes: Syntax, linguistic fieldwork, qualitative analysis, language documentation, meaning-making structures
Research Approach
My academic work bridges linguistic analysis, sustainable tourism strategy, and digital communication. I approach research as both scholar and practitioner. My work as a digital storyteller (TikTok: @storieswithlase) and founder of narrative-driven brand VerseWear by L’authority informs my understanding of how stories are shaped by platform affordances and how narratives circulate across digital and physical spaces.
This practitioner-researcher perspective allows me to analyse digital storytelling from both insider and analytical viewpoints, understanding both the creative process and the broader patterns of meaning-making in digital tourism contexts.
I’m currently seeking PhD opportunities to further this research, with particular interest in programs that value interdisciplinary approaches and practice-based methodologies.
Research Interests
- Digital storytelling in urban destinations.
- Visitor-generated content and destination identity construction.
- Discourse, semiotics, and multimodal analysis.
- Sustainable and inclusive tourism narratives.
- AR/VR and immersive digital environments.
- Transmedia storytelling and narrative circulation.
'Lase | Storyteller 