ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Ade Adeniji ’05 Between New York City and Los Angeles, Ade Adeniji ’05 has carved out a unique path for his creativity. As a journalist, Ade’s work has most recently been featured in Inside Philanthropy: from Robin Hood Foundation’s focus on rebuilding New York or the generational goals of David and Georgia Welles of the Cricket Island Foundation, to broader topics like Black philanthropy and climate change, he’s been covering the latest in philanthropic news. Ade also writes for a diverse array of outlets including CBS News, Newsweek, WIRED, and VICE, where he shares his thoughts on video games and technology, history and race, politics, film and television, and music (specifically G-funk and ’90s West Coast hip hop). He is also an approved Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer Critic through his blog, Soapbox, connecting his current writing to his time as a movie review writer for The Riverdale Review. Early in his time at Riverdale, Ade recognized the importance of commitment and routine, which continues to serve him as he builds his portfolio and strengthens his craft. Ade recalls taking the early bus to get to the track before the sun rose, rushing to classes, and continuing with track practice right after school—and follows that same rhythm as he writes today: “I have the same sort of structure now —I wake up, I work out, and I start writing. Between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. I need to have exercised and be out, and with people.” Ade also remembers the variety of interests 24 QUAD
he was able to explore at Riverdale before studying history at Pomona College, including the senior elective Building in the Urban Past with Mr. [Steven] Kolman, which sparked Ade’s interest in maps, geography, and urban planning and influenced his recent VICE article “Why There’s No Room for Suburbs in Open-World Games.” “Some classes were mandatory but my memory is all about those electives and [co-curricular] activities. There were so many layers to those experiences that it gives you a model of how to be independent and self-directed.” A graduate of Pomona College and the American Film Institute Conservatory in California, Ade recognized how his experiences in and out of the classroom, along with the tools he gained at Riverdale, college, and graduate school, could help him better envision the possibilities of a career on the West Coast. “When I initially came out to LA, my plan was to be a screenwriter but now I see [writing] as a bigger thing and there are many hats that I have worn,” says Ade. Ade’s curiosity about impactful initiatives, the people that drive them, and the many ways donors shape outcomes led him in an exciting direction, telling stories centered on the greater good that inform and inspire.“I became very interested in understanding where [a supporter’s] money goes and how it flows within these spaces because philanthropies can be