Senior Eniola Adeleke could be the busiest student at Glen Burnie High. She’s active in eight clubs, plays three varsity sports, and ranks number one in her class with a weighted 4.47 GPA. Adeleke also organizes three school blood-drives three a year.
“What she has accomplished is impressive,” Glen Burnie Athletic Director Kyle Hines says. “Sometimes, it’s hard to fathom. She plays sports for us year round, and doing so many other things. She can’t have much time for herself.”
Adeleke’s time-management skills are top notch. They have to be with her mountain of activities. She’s a member of several clubs and organizations, including the African American Honor Society, the National Society of High School Scholars, the Captain’s Club, and the Interact Club.
The 17-year-old Adeleke also serves as secretary of the National Honor Society, treasurer of the National Math Honor Society, vice president of the Science Honor Society, and treasurer of the Student Government Association, all while excelling in soccer and indoor and outdoor track.
“I like to do things as soon as I can,” Adeleke says. “So, I have the extra time in case I need to go back to certain things. I compartmentalize things to make sure everything gets done. I think that really works for me.”
Working at summer camps means as much to Adeleke as any of her school activities. She volunteered for two summers at two different camps: Prince George’s Community College and Jeffers Hill Elementary School in Columbia. “I really like doing the camps—especially with the elementary kids,” Adeleke says. “I just love to teach some things and see them learn so much.”
Adeleke’s track and soccer coaches say she is eager to assist teammates in any way she can, so it should come as no surprise that she wants to be a pediatric surgeon. She volunteered at both the Anne Arundel Medical Center and MedStar Harbor Hospital in Baltimore.
Duke, Stanford, and Emory universities top her list of colleges. “I really have a passion for helping people,” Adeleke explains. “You couple that with my interest in science and I just felt being a doctor would be the perfect fit for me.”
Adeleke puts as much time into sports as she does her off-the-field activities. She’s received more recognition in track than soccer.
Adeleke made the Anne Arundel County public schools First Team All-County as a sophomore in indoor and outdoor track. Running a leg on the county champion 800 (indoors) and 400-meter relay teams (outdoors) that qualified for the state meet netted her those honors.
“She always wants to get better,” says Ashley Kelso, head coach of the girls indoor and outdoor track teams at Glen Burnie. “When she finishes a race, she wants to know how she can improve.”
Adeleke finished fifth in the county in the 300-meter hurdles last spring. She’ll do that event and also the 55-and 100-meter hurdles and possibly some sprints this school year.
“I felt that was a warm-up season,” Adeleke says of running the 300-meter hurdles for the first time. “I didn’t have all the techniques down. Now, I know them, I think I will do much better.”
Kelso adds, “I don’t know how she is going to be at the top of the field if you look at her times. She’s been beating people who have running all four years.” Kelso raves about Adeleke’s leadership. She’s a three-year co-captain. It’s clear teammates really listen to her.
“She is fierce and a natural leader,” Kelso says. “She doesn’t take kindly to people slacking. She wants to push people. It makes the whole team rise up.”
On the soccer field, the 5-foot-7 midfielder has been a two-year starter for the Gophers. She’s a standout offensive and defensive player while serving as a co-captain this fall. “I liked her aggressiveness and speed,” recalls Dave Sauble, who coached the Glen Burnie girls soccer team last year. “She was just quick and could run forever, too. Once you got the ball to her, she would be steps ahead of everybody. Defensively, she could get back and cover when someone else couldn’t, and she would score when she had opportunities.”
Hines says Adeleke is modest about her accomplishments and not one to call attention to herself.
“You’d never know she does all these things unless you sat down and really asked here,” Hines explains. “She will greet you with a warm smile every time you see her. She is so nice and so personable. She is not one to show off or brag. It’s not her mentality. She is very humble.”
