Criminal justice major graduating a semester early
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Omolayo Ayomide Oladimeji, a criminal justice major from Bowie, Md., will deliver the class of 2017’s student commentary Friday, Dec. 15 at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s winter commencement exercises.
“It’s a dream of mine to be able to speak to my peers and motivate them,” Oladimeji said.
A dean’s list student with an impressive resume of extracurricular activities and leadership positions, Oladimeji earned her degree in 3½ years, taking to heart her mother’s plea to focus on being a serious student when she moved into a UMES residence hall in August 2014.
Oladimeji said it took her nearly two years to figure out what path of study interested her and when she settled on criminal justice, she was drawn to psychology and learning sign language.
This fall, she worked as student director in the university’s Office of Residence Life, where among her many duties was providing “mediation and conflict resolution as (a) means to maintain healthy living environments.”
“I believe I … can relate well with those graduating … because I know the struggles we’ve been through and I want to be the one to tell everyone we made it,” Oladimeji said.
Since June, she also has worked as a “Lead4Life” intern under the guidance of a licensed counselor in mental health psychology. This past spring, she did an internship with the Wicomico (County) Partnership for Families & Children.
Among her campus activities was serving as vice president of UMES’ African Student Association, where she was active in planning fund-raising and cultural awareness programs. Her parents are from Nigeria.
She is a member of Alpha Phi Sigma, the nation criminal justice honor society, and Rho Alpha Sigma, the national resident assistant honor society.
Among Oladimeji’s interests are “traveling, exploring, adventuring to foreign and exotic countries,” which she got to do as a member of UMES student delegation to the Dominican Republic billed as a “civic engagement trip.”
Back home in Prince George’s County, since 2010 Oladimeji has been involved with a “Christmas in April” program at Andrews Air Force Base and she has also participated in Washington, D.C.’s Race for Leukemia.
She is interested in going on to graduate school but has not settled on specific plan. Oladimeji said she eventually wants to use her criminal justice background to work with juveniles.
