If you go to Fordham and have paid any attention to the Fordham Ram’s football season, then you know who Sam Ajala is. With 53 receptions, 932 yards, and 3 touchdowns (as of 11/18/14), you can say Ajala has had one hell of a season. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Ajala was brought up by two Nigerian parents as the youngest of three sisters and three brothers. Her Campus asked Sam to tell us a few things about himself before we started our interview and these are some interesting, hidden facts Sam shared with us: “I love my family with all my heart and God comes first in my life. I’m not allergic to anything and I love Hidden Valley honey mustard. I think orange soda is the best thing since the internet. Sam loves the kids, and kids love Sam. I’m a lover and a fighter. My favorite movie is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and my favorite food is anything that makes my taste buds smile. I love to think about life and play football. My role model growing up was The Rock. Also, I’m pretty shy until about 11:00 p.m on a Saturday night.”
Where are you from? Desoto, Texas
What year are you? Senior
What is your major? Marketing
What activities are you involved in? Football, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Autism Speaks
How did you decide to come to Fordham? They awarded me a football scholarship, it was the only one I had coming out of high school, so it was basically my only option.
Do you have any tips for students who are trying to balance schoolwork, extracurriculars, and other obligations like internships? Do your best to plan as much as you can, make sure you focus on what’s beneficial to you and will help you short term as well as long term.
What’s your favorite thing about New York? All the different cultures and ethnicities in one place.
Do you have a favorite NYC memory? I would say my favorite is when I came in my visit to Fordham, we went to the Empire State Building and instead of waiting in a line to go to the top, we got to basically skip everyone. It was pretty cool.
What’s on your NYC bucket list? I’ve seen Lady Liberty from the boat, but I want to go on the island and actually go inside of her.
Do you have a favorite Fordham memory? Winning the Patriot League championship at Bucknell.
What’s your favorite class you’ve taken at Fordham? Business Law
What’s your least favorite class you’ve taken at Fordham? Philosophy philosophy philosophy, I hate philosophy.
Where’s your favorite spot on campus? I actually like chilling near the tennis courts for some reason and the Fordham prep field.
If you could give one piece of advice to a Fordham collegiette, what would it be? As far as being an athlete, I would say enjoy these moments as a student athlete to the best of your ability. As far as life goes, we’ve been dealt a pretty good hand by being students at this University, it’s up to you to play your cards right.
What’s your dream job? If God allows me it’s to play professional football, then after that I would like to own a couple businesses: a restaurant, a daycare, a real estate company. I also want to be a substitute teacher at some point.
What do you think the best part of a Jesuit education is? Business students don’t have to take a science class lol.
What’s one thing everyone would be surprised to learn about you? I grew up with 3 sisters plus my mother, and it was my dad and I vs. them haha.
What’s one thing that someone not on the team wouldn’t know? I had a legit candy business in high school making between 300-400 dollars a week.
Who do you think was the toughest opponent on your schedule this season and why? Villanova since they gave us our only loss, but also because we didn’t have our best week of practice leading up to the game.
Did this season live up to your predictions for the 2014 Rams? Oh yea it did.
Who are you the closest with on the team? I would say my roommates Dre, Marcus, and Denard, but I’m very close with everyone… the younger players that I hosted on their visits and basically each senior on the team, we have all been close since the day we got here.
Pick one!
Bronx Zoo or Botanical Gardens? Botanical Gardens
Arthur Ave or Fordham Road? Fordham Road
Cafeteria or Grille? Grille
RamVan or Subway? Subway
Met or MoMA? Met
Hot Dog or Bagel? Bagel
Broadway or Off-Broadway? Either
Radio City or Madison Square Garden? Haven’t been to Radio City yet, so I must go with the Garden
Central Park or Brooklyn Bridge? Central park
Is there anything else that you would like to say to your fellow Rams? These last four years Fordham has really grown on me, you could almost say I hated it my first two years here, but I grew up mentally and it made me realize what a unique place it was. If I could do it all over again, I would choose Fordham again and again. Thanks to all the supporters and friends I’ve made along the way, and I hope to meet many more before I get out of here in the spring. So if you see me around please don’t hesitate to say hey or what’s up!