AFS is excited for the 325th Commencement! Along with the awarding of the diplomas, the commencement address is an essential part of the ceremony. Adrienne Sheares, Alumni from the Class of 2005 has been chosen to address and impart wisdom for the AFS graduates of the class of 2022 on Friday, June 10 at 10 o’clock in the morning.
Adrienne got bit by the entrepreneurship bug at an early age, starting a popcorn and soda business in her Chalfont, Pennsylvania neighborhood, with the revenue goal of being able to afford silly string. Although the venture was not successful, it kicked off a theme in Adrienne’s life, creating businesses to solve her problems.
During her time at Abington Friends School, Adrienne put entrepreneurship on the back burner – opting instead to play varsity basketball and softball, participate in chamber singers, and act in a few plays.
Upon graduation, Adrienne attended Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, majoring in Comparative Women’s Studies and minoring in English, creating documentaries, studying French abroad in Martinique, and joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc – the first sorority for Black women.
Graduating during the Great Recession led Adrienne to attend Johns Hopkins University, graduating with a Master of Arts in Communication. While in school, Adrienne took advantage of the rising popularity of social media and poor job market to create a freelance business, which years later evolved into her own strategic digital marketing consultancy business, ViviMae Labs.
For over a decade, Adrienne has created social media solutions for clients such as AARP, Discovery Education, Issa Rae (creator of HBO’s insecure), Legends of Learning, Lego Dimensions, The Root, Vote.org, and more.
Adrienne’s industry expertise can be found in Adweek, Ragan’s PR Daily and The Chicago Tribune. In addition, her entrepreneurship endeavors have been covered in The Washington Post, Black Enterprise, and ABC 7 News.
Adrienne currently lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, David Jackson. She loves playing tourist in the city, biking, finding the best places to eat, and frequenting Orangetheory Fitness.
The Commencement Ceremony will take place in The Grove of the Abington Meeting House and a livestream link will be sent to the AFS Community.