Daniel Babalola
Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania)
“A curious hamster perpetually chasing novelty for the sake of masochism”
Fun fact about yourself: I interned at the same company three summers in a row.
Hometown: Glen Burnie, Maryland
High School: Severn School
Major: B.S. in Economics with concentrations in Business Analytics and Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Minor: N/A
Favorite Business Course: MGMT 2670: Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:
Black Wharton: President, Vice President of Corporate Development, Howard E. Mitchell Memorial Conference Marketing Chair
Black Wharton Consulting: Manager, Consultant
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: Lead Tax Intake Specialist
Netter Center for Community Partnerships: Lead Tax Volunteer
Penn Archery
Penn Satellite Learning Program: Tutor
University of Pennsylvania Students Federal Credit Union: Chief Technology Officer, Director of Lending, Independent Board Member, Business Analyst, Loans and Collections Officer
Wharton Communication Program: WH 2010 (Business Communication) Teaching Assistant
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance at Penn (VITA@Penn): Founder & President
Honors:
Joseph Wharton Scholar
Benjamin Franklin Scholar
Questbridge Scholar
Where have you interned during your college career?
Credera, Remote, Extern
Capital One, McLean, Virginia, Product Manager
Capital One, McLean Virginia, Business Analyst
Zindi, Remote, Data Analyst
Where will you be working after graduation? Capital One, Product Manager
Who is your favorite business professor? Professor Edward Scott was an instrumental component of my undergraduate journey. As someone who has spent most of his academic journey at PWIs, I hadn’t quite understood the impact of seeing a Black face in that role. Even now, the proper articulation evades me. Taking his ACCT 2110: Tax Policy and Practice in the Philadelphia Community, I was inspired by his focus on the “why” behind the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Acknowledging history and our role in deconstructing disparate impact resonated with me. So much so that I founded a club, VITA@Penn, to recruit and support student volunteers. My volunteer experience in the VITA program has been an invaluable piece of my college experience, and it would not have developed without Professor Scott.
What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? The biggest lesson I’ve learned from studying business is to act fast in spaces that forgive iteration and refinement. So many strategic thinkers fall into analysis paralysis and forgo meaningful failures. Getting to a “no” quickly, or failing quickly, is often a crucial step to ensuring your future success.
Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? My life in six words and the ultimate bane of my existence is “so much curiosity, so little time.” Coming into business school, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of possibilities ahead of me that I spent a great deal of time chasing paths that would become dead ends (in terms of what I find fulfilling). With the benefit of hindsight, I know what pieces fit me best, but, unfortunately, I was only able to discover them by pursuing dead ends. If I could do it all again, I would spend more time speaking with student leaders, professors, and alumni to understand their holistic journey. So many of my early conversations were too narrowly focused, and I missed the opportunities for self-reflection that would have led me to understand what I wanted out of business school sooner.
What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What is one insight you gained from using AI? Broadly, Wharton has embraced the use of AI as long as it is coupled with honest disclosure. Whether it’s through in-house company products or publicly available technologies, the use of AI is a competitive advantage that will be unavoidable moving forward, so it’s important that students have an early understanding of best practices. Personally, I’ve taken LGST 2420, which deconstructs legal and ethical considerations in the design and implementation of AI models. As in all business decisions, ethical considerations should precede compliance, especially in an industry that moves faster than legislation. A friend of mine also shared an interesting class, MKTG 2790, which trains students in the most effective prompt engineering to maximize your generative AI experience.
From using LLMs, I’ve found that no amount of prompt engineering can supersede a conversation with a subject-matter expert. Humans form sparks and connections based purely on innate familiarity or natural associations that generative AI can’t quite capture. Suppose you trained an LLM on Cartesian philosophy. Even with access to every paper ever published on the matter, it cannot tap into the unstructured novelty of two philosophy PhDs casually conversing over coffee. Generative AI is an amazing support item, but it is important to understand its limitations, especially when making meaningful decisions.
Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? For my senior thesis, I am developing a computer vision model for quantifying lung cancer nodules that, if successful, would be used by Penn Med radiologists to ease their workflow. Though lung cancer image classification is a well explored field, there is potential for novelty in identifying the presence of dissolving tumors post-treatment. As someone with almost zero background in medicine prior to this thesis, it has been a fruitful intellectual exercise. Pushing myself to work in an unfamiliar field has forced me to adapt the frameworks I’ve developed in strategy and product management. It has been a well-welcomed stretch and one of the biggest sources of excitement for me in my final year.
Which classmate do you most admire? Junfang Zhang is perhaps the most genuine human being I have ever met. Much of why I admire her is summarized in her commonly used phrase “radical candor.” In a field where authenticity is frequently manufactured, Junfang is a daring empath who lays bare all the pieces that make her absolutely singular. She can make even the most cynical doubter adopt a child-like optimism and is one of the most introspective feelers I know. I’m excited to see how she will transform the world.
Who would you most want to thank for your success? Of course I attribute all of my success to my mother. My life continues to be a compounding series of improbable successes, and the origin point has always been her unshakable confidence in me. Thank you, mama!
What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?
Develop a sustainable model for social impact that places control of capital in the hands of its beneficiaries. (Specifically in the global south; area of impact: TBD)
Build a startup with computer vision as the primary technology. I haven’t been singularly obsessed with accomplishing something since I failed to break my middle school mile record. I would like to recreate that magic.
What made Daniel such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?
“I have had the privilege of serving as Daniel’s advisor since the summer of 2021. As a Joseph Wharton Scholar (JWS), Daniel has consistently demonstrated exceptional academic prowess, leadership, and a profound commitment to community engagement.
The JWS program, part of the larger Benjamin Franklin Scholars program at Penn, emphasizes scholarly research and the integration of liberal arts and sciences within a business education framework. Daniel has exemplified these ideals through his interdisciplinary pursuits and dedication to research. He is currently conducting his undergraduate thesis on “Exploring Machine Learning Methodologies in Lung Cancer Detection,” showcasing his ability to bridge business analytics with medical research.
Beyond academics, Daniel’s leadership is evident in his role in establishing VITA@Penn. This student organization engages undergraduates in the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program in collaboration with the Campaign for Working Families in Philadelphia. This year, they aim to return over $2 million in tax refunds to local families.
Daniel’s dedication to community engagement extends globally through Project Shakti, an initiative co-founded with Lavanya Neti W’25. This project aims to advance women’s health, education, and economic independence in Hyderabad, India.
Daniel has further demonstrated his leadership and commitment to fostering inclusive communities as president of the Black Wharton Undergraduate Association. His ability to balance multiple responsibilities while maintaining academic excellence speaks to his exceptional time management and dedication.
In sum, Daniel Babalola embodies the qualities of a scholar, leader, and changemaker. I am confident that Daniel will continue to make significant contributions to the betterment of society, both locally and globally.”
Utsav Schurmans
Director, Research & Scholars Programs
Wharton Undergraduate Division
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