GEORGE WHARTON PEPPER PRIZE WINNER

Basit Balogun ’21 was selected by students and members of the faculty and administration as the recipient of the George Wharton Pepper Prize, awarded annually to the senior “who most closely represents the Lafayette ideal.”

Balogun is graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and minor in data science.

He is a member of the Tri-Alpha and Upsilon Pi Epsilon honor societies.

He received the Carolynn Van Dyke Prize and the Dr. Eugene Deloatch ’59 First-Year Academic Achievement Award. He won the Dyer Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Business Pitch Competition.

A Posse Scholar, he has tutored at local high schools, led financial literacy workshops, and volunteered as a career ambassador for Gateway Career Center and for Seize Every Opportunity, which brings internship opportunities to minority college students. He is co-founder of Undocufund, which provides financial support to undocumented Lafayette students.

“Like my mom says, if you succeed at anything, you have to make sure everyone else you know succeeds too because that’s the only way you’ll find true joy,” he says.

He has served as director of academic affairs on Student Government, as treasurer for Muslim Students Association, and as a student associate on the Board of Trustees Committee on Financial Policy.

He will work as an engineering analyst at Goldman Sachs after graduation.

“I know I will forever be working toward using finance and technology to solve problems and make the world a lot more equitable for everyone,” he says.