Mobolaji Akiode, who graduated from the Gabelli School of Business in 2004 with a degree in accounting, made her mark in the sport of basketball both on and off the court.
        Akiode capped her career by being named recipient of the 2003 Claire Hobbs Award as the school’s top Female Student-Athlete and the 2003 Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player. She earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors and First Team All-Metropolitan Conference accolades in 2003.
        A productive scorer, Akiode currently ranks ninth on Fordham’s all-time scoring list (1,167 points) and was just the eighth Fordham player to amass 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in her career. She scored 495 points as a senior, the tenth best single-season total in school history.
        After her playing days for the Rams were over, Akiode had a tryout with the WNBA’s Detroit Shock before playing for the Nigerian National Team from 2004-07, including a trip to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, where her squad became the first women’s team from Africa to win an Olympic game.
        Following her professional basketball career, Akiode worked for ESPN as an accountant for a few years before following her heart to Africa, where she established the Hope 4 Girls Africa charity, a US-based, nonprofit organization dedicated to the increased participation and empowerment of disadvantaged young African women in sports and education. For her work with Hope 4 Girls Africa, Akiode was featured on ESPN’s Her Story: Celebrating Women in Sports and, last October, she was honored by ESPNW as one of the inaugural Everyday Heroes.
        A native of Nigeria who was raised in Maplewood, New Jersey, Akiode is currently pursuing an MBA at the NYU Stern School of Business.