Wendelin and James Whitfield Jr., of Laurel, announce the engagement of their son, James Daniel Whitfield, to Leslie Akosua Hill, daughter of Joan and Zachary Hill, of New Albany, Ohio.
The future groom is a 2002 graduate of Eleanor Roosevelt High School, where he was a county wrestling champion and ran track. A 2006 graduate of Morehouse College with double majors in chemistry and mathematics, he earned a master's degree from Harvard University in 2009. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in chemistry at Harvard University.


