KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A Kissimmee native is heading to Brazil this month after being selected for one of the country’s best-known international academic programs.
Yọmi Adegbile, 23, has lived in Kissimmee since he was 2 years old and graduated from St. Cloud High School.
This spring, he completed the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program, studying sociocultural anthropology at Brown University and illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Now, Adegbile has been selected for a Fulbright U.S. Student Study/Research Grant that will take him to Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, for a year of cultural anthropology research.
Studying Gaucho culture in southern Brazil
Adegbile’s project will focus on how people within Gaucho culture describe their own identity, traditions and relationships with institutions, language and material culture.
His work will primarily involve interviews and ethnographic research conducted in Portuguese.
“The Gaucho identity is not an identity that many people from the USA have learned about and the culture is very rich and extensive,” Adegbile told Channel 9. “Brazilian cultures are very regional and distinct.”
Adegbile said much of his academic work has centered on the way people describe their own cultures rather than having those identities defined from the outside.
He has previously conducted research in New Caledonia among Kanak communities and in Mexico’s Yucatán region among Maya communities.
His interest in anthropology began while he was still a student in Osceola County. Adegbile attended Partin Settlement Elementary, Neptune Middle School and St. Cloud High School before taking his first anthropology class at Valencia College during his senior year.
“That completely revolutionized my way of thinking,” he said. “At that moment, I knew I had to major in the subject. There was no question in my mind.”
Adegbile said travel and cultural documentaries he watched growing up also helped spark his curiosity about the wider world.
From Kissimmee to an international research project
Adegbile said receiving the Fulbright is especially meaningful because of where he comes from.
“Being selected as a Fulbright student means the world to me as someone from Kissimmee, Florida because it is not common for people from here to get opportunities such as this,” he said.
He said he hopes his selection can encourage other students in Osceola County.
“There are so many talented and knowledgeable students in Osceola County,” Adegbile said. “I want them to know that if they shoot for the stars, many of their dreams can come true.”
He credited teachers and classmates throughout his years in Osceola County with helping encourage him along the way.
Adegbile’s academic interests also shape his work as an artist and graphic novelist.
He has released three novels and is working on four ongoing series, serving as both writer and artist. His books incorporate anthropology, culture, language and history into fictional stories.
His most recent novel, “The Freedom Colony,” is set in Kissimmee and draws on African American history and folklore, Native American communities with historical ties to Florida and broader American history.
Looking ahead to life in Brazil
Adegbile said he hopes his year in Brazil will produce meaningful research while helping strengthen understanding between people in the United States and Brazil.
“I hope that my project is impactful and builds an understanding between US Americans and Brazilians,” he said.
He is also looking forward to the everyday experience of living in another country.
“I’m most excited to get into daily life,” Adegbile said, adding that he spent part of this summer teaching English in Morocco.
He said he is looking forward to trying Brazilian cuisine, discovering new music and watching movies dubbed in Portuguese.
“By the time I finish, my Portuguese will have improved so much,” he said.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for students and young professionals to study, conduct research or teach abroad.
After the Fulbright, Adegbile said he plans to continue traveling, writing and pursuing further education.
“I would like to further my education, since there is so much more to learn,” he said.
Adegbile is scheduled to leave for Brazil on Sept. 13.
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