Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Scholar Spotlight: Adeyemi Adediran ’16

Wednesday, December 2, 2015, By Cyndi Moritz
Share
College of Arts and SciencesStudents
Adeyemi Adediran

Adeyemi Adediran

Adeyemi Adediran transferred to Syracuse University from a university in his home country of Nigeria in 2014. A philosophy major, he won that department’s Peterfreund Prize for undergraduates this past summer. He spent the summer volunteering at a community center in Baltimore, where he now lives. He also interned at two law firms while he was a law student in Nigeria.

How did you end up coming to Syracuse University?

I often tell people that I ended up coming to Syracuse because I watched a movie, “Elmira Express,” which tells the story of the famous Ernie Davis, but I am not quite sure how true this is. Funny enough, I cannot quite put my finger on the exact time I decided Syracuse University was the right fit for me. I applied to about six other schools last year, and I was accepted to most of them. I probably made the decision to attend Syracuse University because of its proximity to New York City, a place where I hope to eventually practice law.

What do you like about the University?

I have met a lot of wonderful people here, students and professors alike. Two of my professors have been particularly great to me: Professor John Robertson and Professor Kenneth Baynes. Syracuse holds a special place in my heart because I have managed to maximize my potential here. My time in the university in Nigeria was fraught with crisis because of my activities as a student activist. I spent more time organizing within the student movement than I did in class and I have always felt like I did not reach my full potential academically. However, here in Syracuse, I feel like I am finally attaining the heights I have always felt I could reach, and I feel that the nature of the academic system here has made that possible. I have been truly amazed by the desires of many professors to go out of their way to help and make their students better. That is what education should be all about.

What is the Peterfreund Prize, and how did you win it?

The Peterfreund prize is given to any junior deemed to have shown the greatest potential for philosophical achievement during the senior year. I was home over the summer when I was informed that I had won this year’s prize. I was nominated by one of my professors whose class I took in the spring this year. The general criteria for the prize include the ability to write philosophical arguments skillfully and a mastery of philosophical concepts. My professor nominated me and presented a couple of the essays that I wrote for his class as supplements.

What other activities do you participate in at Syracuse?

I am the curriculum director for Making Expression and Scholarship Heard, an organization that teaches creative writing to Middle School students in the Syracuse City area. I also work as a grader in an “Ethics in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering” class.

What does the future after graduation hold for you?

I intend to go to law school. I have always wanted to be a lawyer. Circumstances forced me to abandon my law degree in Nigeria. I had less than a year left to graduate and eventually write the bar exam in Nigeria before I left. So, in the next year I should be in law school. I recently decided that I wanted to attend business school alongside law school, but I might have to change my mind about that; I am beginning to realize that I have not gotten over my phobia for mathematics, so the business school plan might just be shelved.

  • Author

Cyndi Moritz

  • Recent
  • Most Read
  • Related
  • YouTube Fails In Its Fight Against Disinformation
    Thursday, December 5, 2019, By Daryl Lovell
  • 2020 SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows Request for Proposals Now Open
    Thursday, December 5, 2019, By Kerrie Marshall
  • From ‘Justice for Jenny’ to Justice for All: Burton Blatt Institute Redefines ‘Supported Decision Making’
    Thursday, December 5, 2019, By News Staff
  • Random Access Gallery to Recognize Remembrance Day for Lost Species
    Wednesday, December 4, 2019, By Brandon Dyer
  • Personalizing the Campus Pharmacy
    Wednesday, December 4, 2019, By News Staff
  • SU in the News: Tuesday, July 3
    Tuesday, July 3, 2012, By News Staff
  • Syracuse University Permanently Expels Theta Tau Chapter
    Saturday, April 21, 2018, By News Staff
  • Seven Syracuse Alumni Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Lists
    Thursday, January 5, 2017, By John Boccacino
  • Syracuse University Announces $118 Million Investment to Create a New Stadium Experience
    Monday, May 14, 2018, By News Staff
  • 100 Years after WWI: The Lasting Impacts of the Great War
    Monday, July 28, 2014, By Kathleen Haley
  • Innovation Orange: Associate Professor Jay Henderson
    Wednesday, September 13, 2017, By Keith Kobland
  • Meredith Symposium to Feature Research of Underrepresented Undergrads
    Thursday, October 6, 2016, By Elizabeth Droge-Young
  • Physicist Marchetti Named to Commission on Statistical Physics
    Tuesday, December 19, 2017, By Kathleen Haley
  • Specht Wins Mary Hatch Marshall Essay Award
    Thursday, April 25, 2013, By Pamela Whiteley McLaughlin
  • Tunes and ‘Toons: Banjoist Tony Trischka, New Yorker cartoonist Matthew Diffee explore intersections of art and music
    Monday, January 25, 2010, By Rob Enslin

More In Campus & Community

Community Comes Together for Peace Vigil

On Dec. 4, students, faculty, staff and community members gathered for a Community Peace Vigil on the steps of Hendricks Chapel. Spiritual leaders from Hendricks and the broader Syracuse community called for the community to come together to fight hate…

Statement from Syracuse University Regarding Closure of Crouse-Hinds Hall on Thursday, Dec. 5

Syracuse University must prioritize the academic well-being of all students who are taking or who are preparing to take final exams and deliver end-of-semester presentations. To protect the academic environment of our classrooms, we have moved all classes out of…

Relieving End-of-the-Semester Stress

Students: Projects, presentations and final exams can cause additional stress at the end of the semester. Although it can be overwhelming at first, there are many different ways to help manage end-of-the-semester stress. Take breaks It’s important to take study…

Registration Open for WorkLife Webinar for Faculty and Staff

The adolescent and teenage years can be a tumultuous time for both children and parents. Faculty and staff are invited to join this webinar, offered by Carebridge, which will include discussion about the physical, emotional and social changes children experience…

Center for Learning and Student Success Offering Additional Academic Support Programming During This Final Week of Classes

The Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS) will offer additional academic support programming during this final week of classes. Conducted by CLASS staff, the following opportunities are available in the CLASS Academic Support Space in the lower level of…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2019 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.