Ego of the Month: Joel Olujide

EGO of the MONTH

Andrew Yang

Hometown

Columbia, Md. ————————————————————————————

Major

Management and finance ————————————————————————————

Activities

Undergraduate Assembly, Class Board Executive Vice President, WAVe Dance Team, Sphynx Society, Onyx Society, Bell Society ———————————————————————————— In 2019, Street profiled an up–and–coming chef who was creating major buzz in Hill College House. And it’s no mistake that same young talent has been featured once again in this season’s Dining Guide. A young first–year Joel Olujide (W ‘23) would take over the Hill fourth floor kitchen every week, cooking up complex meals to fulfill fellow students’ orders from a few days prior. Joel’s passion for cooking has shaped every day of his time at Penn, from accidentally setting off the Hill fire alarm to his upcoming anniversary plans for his girlfriend.

Joel Olujide

Three years after his last conversation with Street, this student chef still hasn’t slowed down.

BY ANJALI KISHORE

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Last time Street talked with you, it was all about cooking. Is that still something that you’re involved in?

Yeah. It’s funny that we’re doing this interview now, because for me it’s a very full–circle moment. When that article came out freshman year, it really changed my life, even though it sounds very cheesy. I’ve [been cooking] since eighth grade, and it’s always been a passion of mine. When that article came out, I was just starting to cook like that, and the week after was my biggest week. People came out, but right after that article Penn shut me down, because it was a violation of University policy to sell anything in the dorm [since] I lived in Hill. After that, I was really sad and wasn’t cooking, so I reached out to some alumni who

had a similar experience as I had at Penn. I was able to connect to one individual who’s been a really great mentor and friend of mine since then. He got me two jobs, and I’m actually working for him right now, so that’s [also a] full–circle moment. Now I’m back here, still cooking and working with him, too, and it’s just been very complete.

I’m still getting started for sure, but back in freshman year, I never could’ve pictured that this is what that would lead to, so I’m happy with that. I’m still cooking since I moved off campus junior year, so there’s going to be a new meal announced soon.

Where do you see your Penn experience and education fitting in with this passion?

I feel like that intersection is perfectly encapsulated with what I’m doing now in food [venture capital]. Though I came into Penn as a marketing [concentration], I realized that management was pretty cool. I was scared of numbers, which was the biggest thing. I thought a lot of finance would just go over my head, I’ll be honest. I’d look at financial statements and anything like that and just think, “That’s too much.” My alumnus has been investing for a long time, so he introduced me to the finance world, which I was hesitant to enter, but I wanted to give it a shot. Of course at Wharton you have to take courses that force you to be introduced to that world, [but] I ended up honestly really enjoying it.

I didn’t expect that coming into Penn, but now with my passion for food and restauranting, especially working in the VC space on projects that I really am passionate about while using my finance and technical skills, that’s really powerful for me. In terms of this operation in general, I know I need to scale it up, and I won’t be lacking the background to do so. If I’m in a conversation with extremely talented accountants, at least I know the basics of what’s being said, so I think that’s the great-