Just four years ago, Olaleye Onikuyide ’20 said, “I want make my family proud, make UHart proud, practice law in Connecticut, hopefully continue to live in West Hartford, and serve my community at the highest levels.” He is already well on his way to realizing those goals after earning a JD from the UConn School of Law last spring, giving the law school’s Commencement student address, and passing the Connecticut Bar Exam.
As an accomplished undergraduate student and dedicated member of the UHart community, Olaleye earned degrees in both economics and politics and government, and minored in complexity, the interdisciplinary study of the behavior of multiple interactions. He was also an Honors student who was presented with the John G Lee Award at Commencement, which is awarded to an exemplary graduating senior from the Greater Hartford area who achieves academic excellence and is dedicated to community service.
The Connecticut Bar Exam Committee invited Olaleye to a swearing in ceremony at the Connecticut Supreme Court in Hartford with Chief Justice Raheem L. Mullins. Superior Court Judge Kevin Doyle, Olaleye’s long-term mentor, also attended the ceremony. “Judge Doyle has been a mentor to me since my sophomore year, when I completed an internship with the Lawyers’ Collaborative for the Diversity Pipeline Program at UConn and the Hinckley Allen law firm,” he says. “Plus, my family was able to attend the ceremony. It was a blessing to be able to celebrate wins in life but being able to celebrate with those you love is priceless.”
Olaleye Onikuyide ’20, Attorney and UHart AlumnusThe people of UHart are what make it a special place. Behind every achievement I had at UHart was a faculty or staff member who helped me. I’d encourage students to invest in relationships with their mentors and advisors.
Olaleye credits his law firm internship with fueling his interest in becoming a lawyer and says it helped lay the groundwork for his return there as a summer intern as a law school student. “The following summer, I worked in Strategic Claims at The Hartford insurance company, where I did research and a capstone presentation to the entire department about an emerging risk: sports concussions at NCAA schools. This work was the basis for my law school research on the subject which led to my first publication in the Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal.”
In fall 2024, he worked as a law clerk for a federal magistrate judge. “Clerks help oversee court proceedings; research legal issues and operate as the judge’s sounding board, and much more,” he explains. “My long-term career goal is to work at the intersection of my legal skills and interest in public service and I’m still figuring out what interests me most in the legal field. I’m passionate about public service, public policy, and my community. The greater Hartford community and Connecticut, in general, has given me so many opportunities to better myself. The least I can do is find some way to give back and leave things better than I found them.”
Olaleye continues to give back to UHart as a member of the College of Arts and Sciences Board of Advisors, a position he’s held since he was an undergrad. “The people of UHart are what make it a special place,” he says. “Behind every achievement I had at UHart was a faculty or staff member who helped me. I’d encourage students to invest in relationships with their mentors and advisors.”