After being traded by the Jazz and later released by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Oni co-founded Point of View Holdings with his sister, investing in multifamily properties and commercial real estate in the Sun Belt and Southeast regions of the United States.
Despite his myriad of accomplishments, Oni still felt he lagged behind his parents and sister, who has an advanced degree and multiple jobs.
“My whole family, they all have extra degrees … My dad has four, my mom has three, my sister has three. I barely have one,” Oni joked. “I was like, ‘I got to catch up.’”
OMBA, Oni says, is a continuation of that determination and pursuit of excellence.
“\[OMBA\] does take a high level of effort and extra work that not everyone may be willing to do in my position,” Oni said. “For me, it was something that was very important, and I saw the opportunity to get a headstart knowing that I wanted to get my MBA, knowing that USC was a school that I would love to be a part of and a school I would be proud to be an alumnus from.”
As Oni considered his degree options, he kept returning to one place: USC.
Oni’s love for USC traces back to his childhood when he watched Trojan legends like Reggie Bush and Matt Barkley dominate the gridiron. Throughout his amateur and professional career, he played basketball with multiple USC graduates, including Nick Young, De’Anthony Melton, and Chimezie Metu. Even from a distance, Oni could see the value of USC’s vast alumni network.
“I always saw the Trojan family from afar, and I thought that it would be the perfect place to continue my education, just to have a local network and really be a part of the Trojan family,” Oni said. “I thought it would be a benefit to my life and career, and I thought I could add things to that family as well.”
Just a month into the program, Oni is already seeing the positive effects of the Trojan Network. The OMBA program invites new cohorts to campus for an annual residential week, allowing students to get to know each other in person. Oni felt the Trojan bonds immediately. He connected with new students and even reconnected with old friends he hadn’t seen in years.
Of course, Oni notes, Trojan camaraderie extends well beyond the confines of campus.
“I have my USC crew neck and I wear it and people stop you,” Oni said. “Everyone is just so proud to be a Trojan.”
In addition to developing business expertise, Oni plans to use his education to give back to young people like him. Through his foundation, he runs basketball camps and helps high school students pay for college visits to Ivy League schools and other high-achieving academic institutions. At USC, he hopes to become a leader in the community, guiding student-athletes to success and instilling in them the drive his family instilled in him.
“I feel like I can provide value as a resource and give advice to different members of the athletic program and the basketball team,” Oni said. “\[I plan to\] delve into that USC community and Trojan family, try to be a steward in that community, and try to drive value and help other people.”