Oprah's Big Give Contestants

Angelo Adams

Angelo Adams was the leader of more than 100 soldiers in Iraq. A former Army captain, a West Point graduate and a three-sport letter-winner in high school—Angelo is a fierce competitor. Today, he is in his second year at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. "I'm willing to sacrifice whatever it takes in order to be the biggest giver on Oprah's Big Give ," he says.

Watch Angelo's video bio

The Philadelphia native was commissioned as a Signal Corps Officer after graduating from West Point. In the Army, Angelo worked as a mentor to other soldiers, helping them use computers and setting them up for online classes. Since returning home from Iraq, he has worked as a minority recruiter for West Point and as the marketing director for Bell Curves, an SAT and ACT prep course. In June 2005, he was deployed to Korea, where he served for one year. Angelo and his wife have two children—5-year-old Jasmine and 2-year-old Isaiah.

"I wanted to be on Oprah's Big Give to help infuse my giving spirit into the communities, so that when the cameras are gone, the giving continues," he says.

Giving Back Moment: Finding a way to help underprivileged youth by providing a free ACT class for students applying to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Following 9/11 and its aftermath, the number of underrepresented minorities applying to West Point spiraled in a negative direction. I realized that the only way to reverse the negative trajectory of minority enrollment was to increase the pool of qualified candidates. I worked with Bell Curves to provide customized test prep solutions to the West Point applicants in an effort to help them overcome the test barriers. But the greatest gift will be seeing those students walk across the stage at graduation to get commissioned into the U.S. Army!

Food: Philly Cheese Steak

Movie: Shawshank Redemption

Type of Music/Artist: : Hip-hop/R&B, Jay-Z

Dessert: Sweet Potato Pie

Time of Day: Lunch with my wife

Indulgence: Eating candy

Vacation: Disney Cruise

Memory: Becoming the first person from my high school (Scotland School for Veterans' Children) to graduate from West Point

Snack: Swedish Fish

Weekend Activity: Tailgating at University of Michigan football games