Daniel Osei graduated from The College of Wooster as an Economics major in 2020. As an international student from Ghana, he experienced cultural shock the first day of classes, but he soon overcame it. The diversity he found in the classrooms in Wooster opened his mind to different perspectives and cultures. Furthermore, Daniel really enjoyed the size of the classes in Wooster. It was very easy for him to build real connections with his professors. Especially in the Economics Department, he had so many one-on-one interactions with professors that gave him important insights to become the best version of himself.
Ever since high school, Daniel has been interested in how economics can improve the human condition. At Wooster, the Environmental Economics class he took was very important to him. He was very curious about how to manage resources more efficiently and justice aspects of resource management because the African continent is a resource provider for the rest of world. Macroeconomics was another class that he really enjoyed during his time at Wooster because this course challenged him to think of economics from a different and broader perspective.
Daniel graduated in 2020, the peak of the pandemic. Even though this was a challenging time, he felt confident that the broad preparation from Wooster and his quantitative training from Economics would allow him to succeed. After graduation, he worked for a marketing agency for 3 months. However, he felt that this job was not a good fit for him at that time. He moved on to get his master’s degree in finance at Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. With the skills he learned at Wooster and a master’s in finance, he could expand his interests and career as an economist. After a year at Weatherhead, he now works at Ernst & Young as a Tech Risk Consultant. In this position, he performs IT audits to mitigate the risks associated with IT applications in the financial sector.
Daniel feels like his biggest obstacle in his professional life was doubting himself. He explained that after one graduate, it is completely normal not to be sure how things will turn out. To overcome it, he found strength in himself, believing in his values, and knowing that he is qualified to work in that position because of his rigorous training. They chose him for a reason.
“Put yourself out there” is the one piece of advice Daniel Osei would give to his younger self in college. Getting internships, gaining experience in every opportunity, and networking are all very important habits for every student in college, he explains.