The Adesina family (left to right): Fola, Soji, Sola, Fope and Fiyin (pictured separately)
FiyinIn Fall 2012, Adesoji (Soji) and Bolajoko (Bola) Adesina with their three daughters, Fope, Fiyin and Fola, relocated from Sydney, Australia, to Pasadena as permanent U.S. residents. The family had lived for over two decades in Sydney where Soji was a full professor of chemical engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Bola was a high school Special Education Teacher. Although Australian citizens, Soji and Bola were raised in Nigeria where both became Christians in their teenage years and were active members of the Nigerian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (an IVCF affiliate) at the University of Lagos (Soji) and University of Ife (Bola). Soji subsequently received a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Canada (1986) and Bola has different Master’s degrees from UNSW (1992) and University of Sydney (2007).
After some initial struggles, Soji responded to the call of God on his life for theological training at Fuller Seminary, resigned from his position at UNSW, and moved his family across the Pacific to pursue a Master of Divinity degree (2012-2015). In many respects, this was both a challenging and exhilarating period involving recalibration, renewal and an adventure in learning to trust God for daily provision. Bola is currently a middle school Special Education teacher with the Oxnard School District, while Soji has a private engineering consultancy. His interest in engineering research and education has, however, neither waned nor the passion for theological ministry diminished. In Soji’s words; “vocational fulfilment at the intersection of engineering and theology is possible.”
Most recently, Soji received an announcement from the Office of the Presidency in Nigeria that he is the winner of the 2017 Nigerian National Merit Award (NNMA) for Engineering Technology. This is the highest honor conferred by the Nigerian government on individuals with outstanding scholarly achievements in the fields of Medicine, Sciences, Humanities (including Law, Arts & Culture) and Engineering/Technology. This is truly an unexpected accolade. Previous recipients of this award include Professor Wole Soyinka, the 1986 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Soji is most grateful to God for this national honor and in particular, for the growth and friendship his family has enjoyed at LAC under Pastor Greg Waybright and the church leadership. We celebrate this achievement with Soji and his family.