Skip to Content
  • Browse
  • Past Issues
  • Search

Arts and Letters

Wagner History

Wagner News

Inside Sports

Alumni Stories

Obituaries

Alumni Events

From the President

Feature Stories
Winter 2022
Winter 2021
Fall 2021
Summer 2019
Winter 2018–19
Summer 2018
Fall 2017
Summer 2017
Fall 2016
Winter 2015-16
Summer 2015
Fall 2014
Winter 2013-14
Summer 2013
Fall 2012
Summer 2012
Fall 2011
Summer 2011
Fall 2010
Summer 2010
Fall 2009
Summer 2009
Fall 2008
Summer 2008

An Internal Auditor Who Can Connect the Dots

SHARE
PRINT
BACK TO TOP
An Internal Auditor Who Can Connect the Dots
Illustration of Julia Zenker ’14
A Corporate Lawyer with a Heart for Social Justice
Illustration of Samantha Siegel ’11 M’13
One Class, Many Paths

In 2018, Olatunde Ogunlana ’10 M’11 joined the legal and audit group of Goldman Sachs, with a focus on the investment management division.

Ogunlana is a Staten Island native; his mother, Olaide Ogunlana ’08, is a Wagner-educated nurse. He chose Wagner for its small classes and Learning Communities that would expose him to many fields of knowledge in an integrated way.

Illustration of Olatunde Ogunlana ’10
Illustration by Anja Reponen

“Having a broad enough view to understand how to connect the dots is the greatest experience of my Wagner education,” he says. “It’s a testament to the Learning Communities. You start to understand how things work in correlation with each other.”

He started off thinking he would major in science and go for a career in medicine. His First-Year Learning Community was about genes and genomics, combining biology and sociology. His affinity for science continued as he also grew interested in business, ultimately choosing to major in business focused on accounting.

As a senior, he interned with PricewaterhouseCoopers for a full year. “I learned a lot while I was interning at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, because I got to see just how the professional world operated,” he says. His challenging accounting courses at Wagner prepared him well. And his professors were always available to talk with him one-on-one after class.

Beyond the classroom, Ogunlana says that interacting with Wagner students prepared him for today’s diverse workforce. “At Wagner, you are forced to interact with different students from all over the country and all over the world,” he says. “The professional world is reflective of the Wagner campus.”

“Having a broad enough view to understand how to connect the dots is the greatest experience of my Wagner education.”

Playing Wagner football was also a valuable experience in preparing him for his career, he says. “Football makes you very disciplined, and it makes you pay close attention to detail. Those are two skill sets I utilize every single day. Being able to perform under pressure as well. You also have to be good at controlling your emotions and not letting it get the best of you. … Football is one of the greatest teachers of that. And that prepares you for the professional world.”

PricewaterhouseCoopers offered him a job in auditing that he started right after graduation. He was promoted to the transactions services group, and focused on capital market transactions — mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and financial instruments that he hadn’t been exposed to previously. He traveled a lot and learned about many types of businesses. After a few years, he decided to try something different, and worked in recruiting. But, he says, “I missed the technical side of things,” and returned to finance work when he was offered a job with Goldman Sachs’ internal audit group.

His broad and well-rounded Wagner education was a great base for the world of finance, he says. “Finance is really just social science with numbers,” he says, laughing.

Read More Stories of Wagner Plan Alumni!

See more in the ‘Create Your Own Story’ series.

Winter 2018–19

  • Alumni Stories
  • Feature Stories
  • business
  • football
  • The Wagner Plan
SHARE
PRINT

Related Stories

image description

Back to Business

Sep 27, 2021 It’s been a tough couple of years for everyone, including business leaders. To find out how business has fared through the pandemic, and h
image description

Leading The Way

Mar 12, 2021 Five alums combine efforts to chart Wagner’s course through the Covid crisis
image description

Farewell, Seahawks!

Feb 14, 2020 After 13 years as Wagner Magazine editor, the time has come to say farewell to you.
CLASS NOTES
OBITUARIES
CONTACT US

LATEST NEWS

image description

Songfest: Then and Now

For almost 70 years, Songfest has been one of the biggest events on campus. What …

image description

Heroines of the Holocaust

This June, a Wagner College symposium on “Heroines of the Holocaust” brought 50 scholars from …

image description

History Makers: Kinsey Casey ’02

Kinsey Casey ’02 was destined for a life in public service. And no wonder: Her …

image description

Uncommon Lives: Julie Hassett ’08

Julie Hassett ’08 is a body-paint, hair, makeup and cosmetic prosthetics artist who has done …

  • About the Magazine
  • Give to Wagner
  • Wagner Newsroom
  • Wagner Home
FOLLOW US

© 2023 All Rights Reserved