Adewuyi ’20 Thankful for Christian Union’s Influence
By Catherine Elvy
A recent Harvard Law School alumnus plans to use his skills and talents to advocate for housing access and affordability. Yemi Adewuyi ’20 wants to play a role in initiatives that empower the disadvantaged to become self-sufficient.
“Justice is making sure that a person experiencing homelessness can escape poverty,” said Adewuyi.
With that cause in mind, Adewuyi paused to express profound appreciation to Christian Union Gloria Law for its robust ministry and leadership training to students at Harvard Law School. The ministry “challenged my assumptions about what makes a good leader,” said Adewuyi. “The realm of Christian leadership requires the capacity to forgive and love intentionally. It’s being able to extend love when people have not earned it. It’s truly transformational.”
Yemi Adewuyi, HLS '20Not surprisingly, peers readily expressed appreciation for Adewuyi’s spiritual maturity. “Yemi, personally, has been one of the biggest blessings for me from Harvard Law School. He has truly been ‘iron that sharpened my iron,’” said Julian Nunally, Harvard Law ’20.
“Because of his complete and total faith in Jesus Christ, he walks with an air of grace, and his words of wisdom are always rooted and directly sourced from the Bible.”
A Heart for Ministry
Ministry Director Justin Yim echoed those comments. Adewuyi is “highly sought out by his peers, whether believers or not, for wisdom and encouragement,” said Yim. “His heart is for ministry. So, wherever the Lord leads him in his legal profession, he plans on doing ministry.”
In addition, Yim expressed appreciation for Adewuyi’s efforts to shepherd fellow law students in seeking the Lord as he met with them for prayer, worship, and fasting and repentance initiatives. Adewuyi helped to direct a 21-day fast, and he felt impressed to join with Christian law students to cover 2020 in prayer.
During such endeavors, Yim and Adewuyi pointed students to the powerful words of 2 Chronicles 7:14. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Adewuy held leadership capacities for both Christian Union’s ministry at Harvard Law School and with Harvard Law Christian Fellowship during his years in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Texas native is one of three siblings to attend Harvard. Sister Adenike Adewuyi ’09 is a resident physician at Northwestern University, and brother Adewale “Wally” Adewuyi ’21 is a computer-science major and a leader with Harvard College Faith and Action.
“Faith has always been the foundation of our family,” said Adewuyi, who majored in public policy at Duke University. “We attribute success to Christ.”
Growing Spiritually at HLS
Though studies at one of the nation’s foremost law schools are notoriously rigorous, Adewuyi is grateful for how much he grew in his faith and ministry skills while at Harvard Law. “I really appreciate how much Harvard made me a stronger Christian,” he said.
At an academic level, many of Adewuyi’s legal training activities centered upon real estate in preparation for a career focused upon housing issues. Among them, Adewuyi served as a student advocate for the Community Enterprise Project. In spring 2019, he helped the Boston entity in its missions to stimulate business development, increase access to capital, and enable sustainable affordable home ownership.
After taking the Texas bar exam, Adewuyi plans to work for a Dallas firm, where he will handle real estate closings and a variety of property matters. After settling back into life in the Lone Star state, he is also interested in volunteering on behalf of poverty alleviation and homelessness efforts. He also wants to promote affordable housing and community economic development.
As he constructs a career based around equitable housing initiatives, Adewuyi wants to reflect his faith in his professional and personal endeavors. “I just want to wait and see where God leads,” he said.
Adewuyi likes to point to the instructive words of Psalm 127:1. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.”
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