Dola Popoola: Investment prowess leads to prestigious summer program at Harvard
This article by Molly Rosbach was first published on OSU Today.
Most undergraduate students do not manage $6.2 million in assets, but Dola Popoola is not most students.
While completing her double major in finance and marketing, the Oregon State University Presidential Scholar and soon-to-be College of Business graduate also served as president of the Oregon State Investment Group, one of the top 25 student-managed investment funds in the nation. That experience helped cement her love of finance and taught her what it takes to be successful in the industry, she said.
The club and her finance courses shifted her entire college trajectory, steering her away from her initial plan of social media marketing and toward a career as a financial analyst. She’ll kickstart that career with a four-day summer venture at Harvard Business School next week, which is designed to give students a taste of what a Master of Business Administration at the Ivy League institution would entail.
“I’m honored to have been chosen as one of 180 participants out of thousands of applicants,” Popoola said. “I’m also eager to build relationships with my cohort and professors. I plan to go to business school in the future so this will provide an incredible foundation for that.”
Popoola’s interests range far beyond wealth management. At OSU, she was an ASOSU senator during her sophomore year, and she shattered profit records for the College of Business with Figleaf, the apparel microbusiness she started during her freshman-year business class.
Somehow, between two majors, multiple clubs, acting in a friend’s play for a drama class and joining a historically Black sorority her senior year, Popoola found time to serve as the sole student representative on the board of directors for the OSU Foundation and Alumni Association.
It showed me all the work that goes into supporting students and keeping OSU flourishing,” Popoola said. “I was able to provide my opinions on different initiatives such as ‘Finish in Four’ and talk about how it would affect the student body.”
She spent summer 2025 interning with JPMorgan Chase in Dallas, Texas, and the summer before that interning at Beats by Dre. She also volunteered at Rancho Genesis, an orphanage in Ensenada, Mexico.
When she’s not working or studying, Popoola stays active with Pilates, indoor cycling, golf, painting and fiercely competitive game nights. She says the key to a successful college experience is to put yourself out there and get involved with everything.
“Don’t be nervous because you will find your people, and you’ll find your place easier than you expected,” she said. “Every year, I had a new pivotal moment because OSU provided me with so many life-changing opportunities. I can fully say that I’ve gained everything I could from my time at OSU.”
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