Angel Adelaja
Angel Adelaja

BIOGRAPHY

Oluwayimika Angel Adelaja was born on August 17, 1983 in London, England. She moved to America with her parents at the tender age of 3 years. However, from that age, she knew she was meant to make an impact on the world through health services. From that small age, she was heavily involved in science competitions and volunteering at health clinics.

For high school, she went to a math and Science charter school where she excelled and spent her summers volunteering and doing health research with prominently NIH-funded researchers.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Temple University, and was the  founding member of the French Speaking Professional Organization, and was the first community service chairperson for the Organization of African Students. Her role as community service chairperson was to set up events that would serve as an outreach to the surrounding Philadelphia community in addition to teaching about the various African cultures. During her undergraduate experience, Angel also served as a Resident advisor to new students and was a competitor on the university’s Tae Kwon Do team. Through these life experiences, she has made many lifelong friends and encountered events that have contributed to the woman she is today.

Currently, Adelaja is a graduate student at Michigan State University and her career ambition is to become a voice for public health policy and awareness around the world. Because of her scholastic achievements, she was chosen to be a National Institute of Drug Abuse funded pre-doctoral student.

Though she is academically driven, family and the bond she has with her siblings in the most important thing to her next to God. Her family helps keep her grounded mentally and spiritually. They have prepared her to pursue what the Lord has ordained for her with strength and moral character. Her father has taught her to excel and to be an entrepreneur and leader in every aspect of her life, while her mother has taught her to strive to be a strong, faith-based, compassionate, determined woman of character.

When not focusing on academics or volunteering, Adelaja enjoys spending time with her 3 siblings. She is the oldest of 4 children and understands the importance of setting an example for them. She likes to paint, shop, workout, go dirt-bike riding, jet skiing, or just lounging around the house telling jokes with her siblings when they are together. On her own if you don’t see Angel zipping around on her pink moped, she is traveling, sewing traditional clothing, playing her violin or participating heavily in her church community.

At present, Adelaja is an active member of the Beneva Foundation.  This year she will lead the foundation, focusing on three areas: sickle cell awareness, aiding children of displaced Michigan Factory workers and Camp Casey, a Michigan-based horse camp for children with cancer. Believing everyone can be an instrument of change by giving a little time, money, and self, and interested in a life of service herself, Adelaja’s personal motto is “Give a Little, Change a Lot.” As Miss Nigeria in America, she will work to inspire others to live philanthropic lives.  In keeping with this, she has pledged to donate 25% of all her sponsorship money to the Beneva Foundation and a local secondary school in Nigeria. She hopes that the pageant can help spread a spotlight on these specific organizations and on the non-profit sector in general.

Angel Adelaja represented Abia State in the 2009 Miss Nigeria in America Beauty Pageant

FUN FACTS

Abia – Angel Adelaja

NICKNAME: ANNE-GHEL-EE, Los Angeli, Ange, Yimeeks, Yimi, or Yims.
ZODIAC SIGN: Leo
FAVORITE COLOR: Pink, Purple, Yellow, and Nigerian Green!
FAVORITE ACTOR: Halle Berry and Ini Edo
FAVORITE MOVIE: Marie Antionette and Ipi N'tombi:The Musical
YOUR HERO: My mother Alero Smith-Kidd Esq. and the women in my family are my heroes because of their great strength
FAVORITE SONG: So Beautiful by Asa

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