Reframing his mindset for success

If there’s one thing Benedict Adjoyi has grown accustomed to, it’s change. While seldom comfortable, change has empowered him to support students on their financial literacy journeys.

Throughout his life, Adjoyi’s mother has always led by example, instilling the significance of hard work, determination and unyielding love.

So when Adjoyi and his family experienced homelessness not once, not twice, but three times throughout his life, Adjoyi knew he never wanted anyone else to go through what he did, let alone feel ashamed.

“I want to be able to motivate people but also show them that it is possible. You can come from the deepest, darkest parts of your life and still succeed in the things that you want to do,” Adjoyi says.

Transforming passion into student resources

A self-proclaimed finance geek, Adjoyi began delving into financial literacy in high school when his grandfather first exposed him to it.

“I really like having finance conversations. Being able to talk about finance and being able to talk about credit specifically—I can talk about credit for hours,” Adjoyi says.

Naturally, when he got to TU, he felt at home in the College of Business and Economics and decided to pursue a major in business analytics and systems processing.

In his junior year, Adjoyi searched for a community at TU centered around financial literacy, but soon realized one didn't exist—yet, that is.

So, Adjoyi founded Money and Minorities, a financial literacy organization that supports students seeking to become more financially literate.

"One thing about me—if I don't see it, I'm gonna create it," he says.

Adjoyi and his fellow executive board members share their knowledge on budgeting, saving, debt management, credit, investing and more to empower financial agency in others.

“I’m very proud of what I and my team have created," Adjoyi says, "I might be the visionary, but they’re the people who back it up and do their best to make sure that things are going as smoothly as possible.”

Steadily ticking off items on his to-do list, Adjoyi has interned at Northrop Grumman as a configuration management analyst and is a recent initiate of the Mu Rho chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He also supports other parts of the TU community as a Community Center Manager for Tubman House and as a team lead for the SAGE (Students Achieve Goals through Education) program.

I want to be able to motivate people, but also show them that it is possible – You can come from the deepest darkest parts of your life and still succeed in the things that you want to do.

BENEDICT ADJOYI

Reframing through TEDxTowsonU

Before Adjoyi graduated from high school, his adviser prompted him to write down 300 things he wanted to do before he died—one of which was to become a TED Talk speaker.

When the opportunity arose to be one of the five TEDxTowsonU speakers, Adjoyi took the leap.

For the theme, "Happiness by Design," Adjoyi highlighted the power of mental reframing—a way to modify your beliefs to create real change in your brain.

Although hesitant at first, Adjoyi decided to share his experience with homelessness in his talk after receiving support from his PCC mentor, Alexa Blackman.

“Alexa helped me recognize that this was something people needed to hear. She said, 'It might not be what you want to say, but people need to know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel,'” Adjoyi says. “When I saw it from that perspective, I realized my vulnerability could be used as a strength, rather than it being perceived as a weakness.”

"Mental reframing came with a lot of practice, a lot of patience and a lot of time. But with time, it's continued to blossom," Adjoyi says.

This spring, alongside one of his best friends, Alphonso Faltz, Adjoyi will walk the stage and serve as the undergraduate Commencement speaker for the College of Business & Economics. He will have a full-time job as a configuration management analyst at Northrup Grumman.