Putting nitrogen or oxygen in middle of Lewis structure

[806154624]

I know that oxygen has a lower ionization energy than nitrogen and that the element with the lower ionization energy goes in the middle when constructing a lewis structure. However, in class Dr. Lavelle put nitrogen in the middle instead of oxygen. This confused me because I though it had a higher ionization energy than oxygen. Can someone please explain why this is the case? Thank you!

[Adora Vinhnee 1L]

Although elements with lower ionization energy typically are in the center of a Lewis structure, it is not always the case. Since nitrogen has fewer valence electrons than oxygen, it has a larger ability to form bonds with multiple atoms, making it the central atom in most compounds containing oxygen.