Adesewa Adefowokan

Adesewa Adefowokan was born in Nigeria, but moved to Chicago when she was 14 years old. As she neared graduation from Daniel Hale Williams Preparatory School of Medicine on the South Side, she wasn’t sure what her next move would be.

“I knew I couldn’t afford tuition at a four-year university, and thought I wouldn’t be able to continue school period – then my counselor told me about the Star Scholarship.”

She qualified to take advantage of the scholarship, which covers the full cost of tuition and books as she earned an associate degree. She chose to attend Malcolm X College because she was interested in nursing and it is the City Colleges center of excellence in healthcare education.

Once at MXC, she decided to study biology, and became involved on campus as the secretary of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. She also utilized the Transfer Center when she was researching bachelor degree programs.

“I wanted help with my college applications, and needed to learn more about my options for paying for the next two years of school.”

After much research, she decided to apply to Rutgers University in New Jersey. Not only was she accepted, she was awarded a scholarship that completely covered her tuition.

Now studying medical imaging, she expects to earn her bachelor’s degree in 2020 and is thinking about going to medical school.