Light after loss; Femi Abioye plans to honor his late father by becoming a leader of ethical data science
Monday, June 9, 2025
Media Contact: Stephen Howard | Director of Marketing & Communications | 405.744.4363 | stephen.howard@okstate.edu
Femi Abioye stepped to the podium in his crisp black suit and sleek black tie, which made his starched white shirt seem almost radiant. His hands were steady on each side of the dais. Abioye looked cool on the outside, but he was admittedly a little nervous.
How could he not be?
A standout management information systems major, Abioye was tasked with revealing the motivation behind his academic achievements and unshakable demeanor to an audience of around 400 distinguished alumni and award-winning students at the 2024 Spears School of Business Dean’s Scholarship Banquet.
Abioye wanted to do the opposite. He wanted to tell everyone how their contributions had made his story possible, and that committing to the process of success – no matter how tough it may be – was essential. He wouldn’t be standing at the front of that room without it.
That’s when the Oklahoma State University junior dropped the bombshell.
“Sometimes, things come out of left field and hit you like a truck,” Abioye said. “That kind of happened to me last November when I lost my father.”
Adeolu Abioye was both the rock and glue of his family when he passed away unexpectedly at age 63 on Nov. 17, 2023. A terrific cook and a jovial host, Adeolu and his wife, Adedoyin, were excited to open their home to family and friends for Thanksgiving the following week. Instead, even more family and friends came from all over the country to mourn and celebrate Adeolu while wrapping their arms around Adedoyin and her four grown children.
Originally from Nigeria, Adeolu arrived in the United States in 1982 thanks to a scholarship to attend Central State University, now the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. He studied political science and international relations, which came in handy during his 40-year career as a social worker and certified public manager at the Department of Human Services.
Adeolu raised his family in Edmond, where he was active in his church and committed to community causes. Despite suffering from glaucoma and sickle cell anemia, Adeolu didn’t let those debilitating ailments slow him down. Instead, he worked twice as hard and used his situation to inspire others.
In his role as a CPM, Adeolu helped office managers improve the quality and efficiency of their units through planning, prioritizing and leadership training. While his son, Femi, wasn’t one of his official clients, he may have been the best example of Adeolu’s work. At least, that’s the way Adedoyin sees it.
“If you ever met my husband, you would testify to that too,” Adedoyin said. “Everybody that meets Femi says, ‘I see your father in you.’ I’m so thankful to God to hear that because it would make his father so proud. You can see the leader in him.”
Learning from his father’s passion for local causes, Femi wasn’t content just attending classes at OSU. He wanted to get involved. He joined the Freshman Action Team and quickly became the organization’s president. Same for the African American Business Student Association. He joined Spears Assist to help his fellow students understand analytics tools and also became a digital operations intern for OSU Career Services.
Femi has been named to the Dean’s Honor Roll four times and counting, which earned him a spot in the first cohort of Tom Love Scholars. The scholarship is named in honor of the late founder of Love’s Travel Stops, which contributed $1.08 million to create the program. That generous donation pushed the total number of scholarships handed out by Spears Business to 1,360 awards totaling $2.9 million last year alone.
Tom Love scholarships will be awarded annually to 20 deserving Spears Business students who stand out in academic performance, campus involvement and leadership. If it weren’t for his Tom Love Scholarship, Femi may not have been able to continue at OSU.
Femi doesn’t shy away from that reality. In spite of it, he's become a campus leader with a passion for data analytics. In fact, five years from now, he hopes to be working as a data scientist. Artificial intelligence, specifically large language model programs like ChatGPT, fascinates him, and he sees the AI boom as an opportunity to drive ethical leadership in the space.
“I feel like we’re on the cusp of a new scientific revolution, kind of like the printing press was, and like the photograph was to traditional art,” Femi said. “I think we’re on the cusp of something great, and I definitely want to be a part of that wherever I work in the future.”
What excites Femi the most is that he sees a problem in need of solving. He sees that the world is becoming increasingly reliant on technologies that require leadership, and he wants to be that leader, the solution to society’s problem.
That’s the exact mindset management science and information systems department head Dr. Rick Wilson hopes to inspire in his program’s graduates.
“We’re creating the next generation of problem solvers,” Wilson said. “I think that sometimes we get bogged down in things, like what database applications are you learning? What programming languages are you learning? What tools are you learning? Yeah, we need students to know how to use tools — that’s all part of it. But at the end of the day, the learning objectives that are at a much higher level are what’s important. All we have to do is look around our world to know that we lack problem solvers. So, that’s what we do. We produce problem solvers.”
Dr. Evan Davis saw Femi’s problem-solving potential early on. Davis, an assistant professor of professional practice in the Spears Business MSIS department, leads the Spears Assist program, which serves as a resource for MSIS majors who need guidance with the most grueling parts of data analytics.
Spears Assist was put into action thanks to a partnership between Spears Business and Stillwater-based data and IT firm InterWorks, but the students make it hum day-to-day with their approach to peer mentorship.
Davis is known for teaching many of the introductory MSIS courses, so he gets an early look at the students who show potential as mentors. He said it wasn’t hard to pick out Femi as an up-and-coming student who would enhance the already stellar Spears Assist team.
“Every kid in there is a rock star,” Davis said. “They’re all students who are making the right decisions, doing the right things, getting involved on campus and in Spears, and staying engaged. Femi fits right in with that group. Asking me who my favorite Spears Assist student is would be like asking me which one of my kids is my favorite. They’re all amazing.”
Adedoyin would never try to choose her favorite child either, but she is grateful that her relationship with Femi has somehow grown even closer since Adeolu’s passing. Femi happily takes care of things at her home and even surprised her with flowers and a dinner date on Valentine’s Day.
She credits the Spears Business faculty and staff for helping Femi through the toughest moments of his life and preparing him to step into his career. She knows that all his training — both on campus and from his late father — culminated inside Femi when he took the podium last fall at the Dean’s Scholarship Banquet. He was filled with his father’s spirit and a problem-solving mindset, thanks to the MSIS faculty at OSU.
How could he not be?
“That event was a great moment to speak about my father’s life and how he’s instilled some thoughts in me that still guide me to this day,” Femi said. “He showed me what a man looks like. I want to continue to glorify him and live out his values. He’s inspired me so much in my life and still does to this day.
“I know a lot of students have gone through similar situations. To show them that I’m here, I’ve done this. You can, too. And there are people here that can help and support you and that love to support you.”
Story by: Stephen Howard | Engage@Spears magazine
Photos by: Devin Flores, Aaron Murphy and provided