Amolegbe’s Crowning Glory

It’s midafternoon during UGA’s 2024 Homecoming Game and the sun beats down on Sanford Stadium. As Stephen Amolegbe Jr. is crowned Homecoming King, he feels the sweat drip down his suit, hears the crowd roar from the bleachers, and he thinks, “This is the best day of my life.”

As vice president of the UGA Student Government Association, Amolegbe actually spent most of Homecoming Week organizing events, guiding his peers, and promoting Homecoming activities. His focus has always been on the next challenge and how he can best make an impact.

When he wasn’t helping to plan one of the biggest events of the year, Amolegbe worked with the student government to create affordable transportation for out-of-state and international students. The student government cabinet collaborated with UGA’s Auxiliary Services to launch airport transportation services for out-of-state and international students. Amolegbe says that serving as vice president has instilled a sense of responsibility to represent the student body in a way that builds up the entire community.

“I really love being a ‘megaphone’ for other students. Even when I don’t have the ideas, I can help advocate for my classmates and help them achieve their goals,” he says.

Double the Dawg, Double the Impact

It’s impossible to summarize Amolegbe in one word, but “drive” is pretty close. The University of Georgia’s Double Dawgs program empowers students to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in five years or less. It’s designed for future leaders who are ready to take their education and career to the next level—leaders like Amolegbe.

As a fourth-year Double Dawg, Amolegbe is pursuing a bachelor’s in management information systems and a master’s in business analytics. From his first year at UGA, he saw the program as the fastest way to reach his goals and take full advantage of the resources the university has to offer.

“Being at UGA means being surrounded by driven, ambitious people—whether they’re students in my class or industry leaders who visit campus,” he says. “The more people you interact with, the better you want to do.”

“The course wasn’t just about theory—it was about problem-solving in real time,” he says. “It was incredibly rewarding to see our ideas come to life and get a head start in the business world.”

This experience gave Amolegbe a necessary understanding of the practical applications of business analytics and technology. It also laid the groundwork for his interest in digital partnerships and prepared him for a role at the cutting edge of technology in his future position with Visa.

After working as an innovation and digital partnership intern at Visa, Amolegbe secured a full-time job with the company. Starting in the fall, he will rotate through four key sectors of the business—financial data, strategic thinking, product development, and client services—before choosing his final position.

“Every transition, whether it’s from high school to college or college to a full-time job, comes with learning curves,” Amolegbe says. “No one has all the answers, but if you surround yourself with the right people, you’ll always have the support you need to succeed.”