April 24, 2007
Bronx, N.Y. - The Fordham Athletic Department hosted the inaugural Student-Athlete Career Mentoring Night this evening, which provided current student-athletes the opportunity to network with Fordham alumni.
One of the panelists for the evening was former Fordham women's basketball player and Olympian Mobolaji Akiode ('04). Other panelists at the event included another women's basketball alumnus, Karen Yost ('71), an attorney and partner at Yost & O'Connor, as well as representatives from Morgan-Lewis, Ann Taylor Loft, UBS, the Cintas Corporation, Deloitte & Touche, Goldman Sachs, and ESPN, Inc.
Along with the current student-athletes networking with alumni, the night also assisted Akiode, as she networked and landed a position at ESPN as an accountant.
Akiode joins a lengthy list of Fordham alumni, who currently work for ESPN, including Christine Driessen (Executive Vice President of ESPN, Inc.), Michael Kay (ESPN Radio), Tony Reali (ESPN's Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption), Mike Breen (ESPN NBA Announcer), and Bob Papa (ESPN Friday Night Fights Announcer).
In its inaugural year, the Student-Athlete Career Mentoring Night was a program started by Fordham's Senior Associate Athletic Director Marianne Reilly.
"Our junior and senior student-athletes were able to interact with successful alumni, many of whom were former student-athletes themselves who had great experiences to share. The event was a success, and we are certain that interest will continue to grow with our student and alumni base in the future," said Reilly.
"Fordham University has an extensive network of successful alumni who leveraged their position to help Fordham student-athletes transition to the work place. The professional opportunities for our student-athletes when they graduate from Fordham are outstanding. This inaugural Student-Athlete Career Mentoring Night shows the commitment of the athletic department to the total development of our student-athletes" said Head Coach Cathy Andruzzi
Akiode was an outstanding player for the Fordham women's basketball team from 1999-2003. She became the eighth player to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in her career, and ranks among the top ten all-time scorers and rebounders in the program's history with 1,167 points and 554 rebounds.
In her senior year she was named the Atlantic 10's Most Improved Player Award, Second Team All-Conference honors, and the Claire G. Hobbs Award, as Fordham's Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Akiode was also one of five members selected by the Metropolitan Basketball Writer's Association as First Team All-Metropolitan. She averaged a team best 16.5 points per game and scored 495 points, which is the ninth best single season point total in Fordham history. She was the first Fordham women's basketball player to receive a major award as a member of the Atlantic 10.
Following stints playing overseas, Akiode found herself on one of the biggest stages at the 2004 Summer Olympics, playing for the Nigerian Olympic Women's Basketball team. She led the team to Africa's first ever win in Olympic competition, scoring 15 points in 34 minutes in the 11th place game against South Korea. She appeared in six games, averaging 3.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game to go along with six steals.
