Teniola Adedire is an undergraduate student at Columbia College of Columbia University studying Political Science (Political Theory concentration) with minors in Philosophy and Sociology. On campus, she dedicates her time to serving as the Editor in Chief of the Columbia Black Pre-Law Journal and a contributing writer for the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review.
Over the years, Teniola has also completed internships and research opportunities relating to public policy, voting reform, social and economic equity, and youth outreach. These professional experiences, including her own lived experiences, have given her a profound interest in education policy, specifically how to address the disparities that low-income public schools face. Teniola is particularly concerned with topics of school vouchers/school choice, racial inequities in education, and the separation between church and state in public institutions.
Additionally, Teniola was recently chosen as one of five Columbia University Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows, a position that provides support for extensive research in the humanities. As a Fellow, Teniola will be conducting research that examines the intersections of Black feminist thought, educational equity, and the experiences of Black girls in the American public education system, with a focus on the school-to-prison pipeline as it disproportionately affects this population.
In her free time, Teniola enjoys bike-riding in the city, editing videos on arts & culture, and storytelling in pretty much all forms (theatre, music, poetry, prose, etc.).