Hostos alumna Folusho Adeoti and student Reola Alexander were among those honored at the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society All-New York Academic Awards Team Ceremony held April 13, 2022. Jason Libfeld, Student Leadership Coordinator at Hostos Community College, attended the ceremony in support of both students.
 
Folu and President Cocco De Filippis


Dedicated to helping high-achieving college students reach their full potential, the Phi Theta Kappa honor society has more than 3.5 million members in the United States and 10 sovereign nations. We are proud to count Folusho Adeoti and student Reola Alexander among the organization’s members. In recognition of being named to the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, Adeoti received a proclamation from Congressman Jamaal Bowman and NYC Councilmember Kevin Riley, and Alexander received a proclamation from Congressman Adriano Espaillat. 

Folusho Adeoti recently graduated from Hostos Community College in the Fall of 2021 with a Liberal Arts Associate degree, and she is currently a student at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering studying Computer Science. While at Hostos, she was a member of Hostos Leadership Academy, Hostos Honors program, ASAP and named on the Dean’s List and President’s List. She was also elected to serve as the President of the Alpha Kappa Tau Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at Hostos shortly after becoming a member. She is grateful to Hostos for all the amazing people that she met, and the opportunities that the college continues to bring her way. 

Adeoti enrolled at Hostos some months after moving from Nigeria to New York City with her family in 2018. As missionaries, her family moved to the United States in 2018 and only her father was allowed to work, because of the nature of the family’s visas. They found it very hard to secure the financial means needed to put two college students through school, taking care of house bills, and all the other things that go along with living in the U.S.  She was in and out of college for her first two years, due to some financial hardships, but eventually she was awarded aid, including an Hostos scholarship that allowed her to stay in school and finish soon after. 
Before attending Hostos, Adeoti wasn’t really interested in participating in college activities outside of her immediate studies, but was happy she got involved with the College and experienced it properly. While at Hostos, she engaged fully in remote workshops and in-person volunteering with the Hostos Student Leadership Academy (SLA) and served as the President of the Alpha Kappa Tau Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at Hostos Community College for the fall semester of 2021. 

Looking back on her journey so far, Adeoti shared “some time ago” she found herself feeling stagnant and in an “unproductive space,” but was ultimately able to move forward by focusing on the positives in her life and looking to her family for inspiration. “In my head, I launched into creating a mental dream board,” she said. “I started to draw strength from that overwhelming circumstance by reminding myself of the rest of my family, specifically my parents. My parents, who I consider to be excellent role models, had shown tremendous resilience in absolutely hopeless times. With a sliver of hope in sight, I came to the conclusion that it would be the greatest disservice to not implement what I have learnt from them. The only choice was to keep at it, because as much as I would like to be successful, I would like to do it for them most importantly. Even though I was homeless, I continued striving.” 

Reola and citation

Reola Alexander enrolled at Hostos in the Fall of 2020 and set her sights on studying in the Dental Hygiene program. While taking her pre-requisite courses she managed to keep a 3.89 GPA and currently holds a 3.663 GPA.

During the pandemic Alexander learned to be grateful for what she has. She lost family members as well as her job, but that just motivated and pushed her to want to further her education in the dental field and live her life to the fullest. Although remote learning was not easy for her, she developed a new found love for education and helping those in need.  

“Sometimes it's hard to stay motivated, but with the help of my peers who are also on an academic journey with me, I am able to find motivation,” she shared. “I would encourage any student struggling to join clubs, and try their best to attend as many events hosted remotely from your school as possible. Find the motivation in these hard times, although things may be different, try to make the best of your academic experience.” 

As a member of Phi Theta Kappa, Alexander hopes to continue receiving peer empowerment and necessary resources as she continues on her academic and professional journeys. She expects to graduate in 2023, after which time she plans to start looking for work as a dental hygienist.

Congratulations to Folusho Adeoti and Reola Alexander on their well-deserved recognitions. We wish them the best of luck in all of their future endeavors.