Commencement Profile: Jeff R. Oyo

Jeff Oyo has earned a bachelor of science degree in economics, attaining a 3.48 GPA while emerging as a top student researcher and scholar.

Oyo will receive the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence during the 2:00 p.m. baccalaureate ceremony at Buffalo State’s 142nd Commencement, Saturday, May 17, in the Sports Arena.

As an economics major and mathematics minor, Oyo has excelled in a carefully planned and intentionally rigorous undergraduate course of study that he designed to prepare himself for attaining his ultimate goal of earning a doctorate in economics. Intelligent, talented, motivated, and hardworking, Oyo has inspired fellow Buffalo State students with his diligent work and has shared his experiences with high school students to encourage them to pursue higher education.

As a researcher, he pursued multiple intensive opportunities to engage with emerging and veteran economists on and off campus. He participated in the Ohio State University’s Summer Research Opportunities Program in 2013 and the University of Maryland’s Summer Research Initiative in 2012, demonstrating the ability to take economic theory and apply it in a pragmatic way. As a result, Oyo is already making contributions to the world by finding real-life solutions to macro- and microeconomic problems for underserved groups. He has presented his research at Buffalo State and at the University of Cincinnati.

In the community, Oyo has served as a mentor with United Black Men of Queens County and as a volunteer with special-needs children at public schools in New York City and Buffalo. He has also volunteered his time with Women for Human Rights and Dignity, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and the Buffalo State Disability Services Office.

A participant in the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program, the Ross B. Kenzie Family Scholarship program, and the Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program, Oyo has brought prestige to Buffalo State. He was one of 50 McNair scholars nationwide to be selected for the Southern Regional Education Board’s Doctoral Scholars Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, setting him on a path to a successful career in academic research, teaching, and mentoring.