Today we’d like to introduce you to Owen Odigie.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Owen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a first-generation Nigerian-American who was born in Brooklyn, New York then lived in London, England and Lagos, Nigeria before moving to Southern California at the age of 10. I spent my formative years (middle school through High school) living in Rancho Cucamonga, CA and then attended undergraduate at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) to study Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. After graduation, I went on to work at Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo for four years before making a career pivot at working at Webstyle in DTLA and Hawke Media in West Los Angeles. For the last three years, I was a resident in Los Angeles. Now, I am pursuing my MBA at Columbia University and just moved to New York City.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not. To take a step back, I was not academically focused in high school and as a result was not accepted to any of the eight colleges, I applied to. Thankfully, I threw in one last application to CSUSB (my home university by location proximity) and that was the only school I got into. Trying to get a job out of CSUSB at a prestigious investment bank was extremely difficult and I actually had to sneak into UCLA’s career fair a couple of times to make some connections. I also flew across the country to Atlanta, Georgia to attend a career fair that was for MBA students (as an undergraduate) to secure an introduction from a representative at Goldman Sachs. When I moved on to Wells Fargo, I realized working in Finance was not fulfilling and quit my job (without another job lined up). I was unemployed for three months before working at Webstyle. After working at Webstyle for about seven months, I then got hired on at Hawke Media. Two months into my job at Hawke Media, I was laid off due to COVID. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I then applied to Business School and now I’m attending Columbia Business School, a top ten business school in the country and Ivy League University.
Please tell us about Columbia Business School.
Well, I’m currently now a MBA candidate at Columbia Business School but after school, I’d like to move back to Los Angeles to create a social enterprise organization that trains young Black, Brown and other underrepresented students in high school the foundations of business, life tools (understanding credit, paychecks, credit cards, etc.), college preparation and life after High School.
What I’ll be most proud of is the determination and grit to make through all the obstacles and create an organization that will help students avoid some of the mistakes I made when I was young.
What sets me apart from others is my cocktail of life experiences. I lived on three different continents, I’ve studied finance and business and worked for some very respected financial institutions but I also deeply care about my community and the next generation of leaders. I myself want to be a leader to push our country in a direction where all citizens (particularly Black people and other people of color) are fully respected and have economic and social equity in this country.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The ability to have a vision and then execute on that vision. Being adaptable to life circumstances and still having the determinations to turn my dreams into a reality.
Contact Info:
- Email: odigieowen@gmail,com
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