Angelica Olawepo made the headlines after becoming the first ever young mayor of Barking and Dagenham in 2015 at the age of 17. She has dined with the Queen of England and Duke of Edinburgh. Angelica also received the student of the year award from barking abbey school in September 2013.
She also received the outstanding achievement award for having the best results at Barking Abbey sixthform in September 2016. Angelica got admission into the prestigious Oxford university in 2016 to study law.
In august 2016, she launched the Sophire foundation. The Sophire foundation instils confidence and strengthens in young people to pursue their professional aspirations through training, mentoring and other forms of support.
In Greens magazines exclusive interview with her, she shares with us a briefly about herself, her passion for helping others, how she became the first young mayor, how she got into oxfordOxford University, her hobbies and her Christian life.
Greens : Tell us about yourself and your passion for helping others
Hi! My name is Angelica Olawepo and I am a 19 year old who is proud of my Nigerian-heritage and currently living in the UK. I believe we all have a social responsibility to contribute to the development and improvement of the lives of others, by giving back and leaving the Ladder ladder behind ourselves for others to climb it too. This is why I am heavily involved in my community and I take up every opportunity where possible to influence others positively- and particularly with young people.
Greens : How did you become the First Young Mayor?
In August 2014, I felt like the Youth in my borough lacked adequate representation and so, I took it upon myself to contact our Member of Parliament, Margaret Hodge about my concerns. In the letter which I wrote to her, I proposed the introduction of a Young Mayor scheme, which would essentially provide a voice for young people of all races, sexes and ethnicities, etc. To my surprise, by the end of that same Year, the scheme had been created and the role of Young Mayor was made available for young people to run for. I ran for the position and after giving a manifesto speech at the elections in February 2015, I received a staggering amount of votes and became the Young Mayor, out of the multiple young people who also contested.
During my term, I did a lot of things, such as volunteering at local establishments and supporting events hosted and organized by councilors and residents of my local community, e.g. the annual womens empowerment awards. As part of my charity appeal, I organized my own fundraising event which raised huge amounts of money for Young Mind a mental health charity supporting Young young people suffering and/or affected by mental illness. I would have to say the most memorable will be the fact that I got the opportunity to dine with the Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, whose name is Prince Phillip. It was a surreal experience
Greens : tell us about your admission into Oxford?
I always knew that I was destined to do something great with my life no matter what situations I found myself in. Its important to stay focused and to have a reasonable amount of tunnel vision. This is because in life, different obstacles will arise which may initially discourage one, but with hard-work, it is possible to overcome anything and everything. Having had such high aspirations to attend a top University, I decided to apply to the University of Cambridge in the autumn of 2015. Almost everything I had been working towards in my life at that point was towards Cambridge which it much more painful when I received the News that I had been rejected and would not even be called up for an Interview unlike other people whom I knew that got to the Interview stage. Regardless of my rejection, I remained focused and motivated which allowed me to work towards getting good grades regardless of whether Cambridge would take me or not. It was in 2016 May that I was made aware by an amazing friend of mine, Sarwar, of an opportunity at the University of Oxford which was made for students who might have felt discouraged from applying to Oxford as they may have assumed that they would not succeed in the first place. I took the bold step after being literally almost forced by Sarwar to apply! I owe Sarwar so many thanks because after completing a lengthy application process, getting two referees to submit references and being interviewed for about 40 minutes by 4 experts in their field, I received an offer to Study Law. Since October, I have been studying Law at the University of Oxford and I am really enjoying my course. Without dedication and hard-work, I wouldnt be where I am today. I even surpassed Oxfords standard Law entry requirements by 2 whole grades! I could never have done that if I didnt pull myself up in times of despair; hard-work is Key.
Greens : What hobbies do you have?
In my spare time, I get up to a lot, being quite an expressive person by nature. One of my favorite past-times is Drama as I find it exciting to take on roles which I dont entirely identify or relate with. In exploring my interest in acting, I was filmed in a presentation for the London 2012 Opening Ceremony. I was also featured in various billboard campaigns which were published on the streets of Barking and Dagenham. In addition to this, I love to sing and I am a member of Kaleho a gospel music group which has over 450,000 YoutubeYouTube hits, holds nationwide concerts and has 2 singles out. I enjoy utilizing my gifts whichever way I can, which is why I am a member of NXGN (the RCCG London Youth Choir) and as a result, I minister to the 50,000 audience of the RCCG Festival of life, which broadcasts Nationwide.
Greens : Talk to us about your Christian Life
Having been raised in a Christian settinghome, I grew up in an environment where I had loving values instilled in me from the beginning. I think that this should be the first priority for all. We should strive to adopt the teachings and attitudes of Christ in our daily lives. This way, obeying his commands wont be so much of a challenge when we are put to the test because it will almost be second nature to us. We get too bogged down with religion as a legalistic system that we get to a point where we dont actually believe what we do is right; we simply do it because we think it will get us to heaven. Such a way of life can be counter-productive and I try my best to avoid it. I love going to Church because it is one of the best environment where you really get to worship God in fellowship while fulfilling Gods wish which is to be a unified body of Christ. My faith is central to
my life and ever since the day I welcomed God into my heart, I have never been the same. Proverbs 24:3 advices us, above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. When you welcome God into your life, everything you do will be centredcentered on around him, from getting a degree to choosing a career, from your lifestyle and dress to how you treat others and carry yourself. I find it beautiful to be able to say that I live my life for God and I am proud to be Christian
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