Elisee Joseph, 25, is a college professor who received his doctorate at the age of 24. He reminds us that your occupation does not have to be your limitation. He currently has five jobs.
“I would rather be the rare anomaly and go against the grain than imitate a model that was emulated in the past,” Joseph once stated.
Born in 1994 and raised in New York City, Joseph grew up in a conservative Haitian household where education was held in high regard.
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He attended Benjamin Banneker and graduated as a student-athlete. He went on to Queens College after transferring from Siena. He was a member of the Knights’ basketball team for the 2013-14 season.
While at Queen College, he
He was a 2014 all-conference honoree as part of the 4×100-meter relay; in 2015, he won all-conference laurels in the 4×200-meter relay on the indoor side and took home All-ECC titles in the 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree at age 20.
In a bid to try something new, Joseph developed interest in Wall Street. He earned his master’s degree in business administration at Brooklyn College graduating in 2016 while working at Wall Street.
He later left Wall Street to pursue a new career as an educator while also pursuing a Doctorate degree in Business Administration (D.B.A.) at Felician University. By the age of 22, Joseph had become a business faculty member at Marymount Manhattan College-teaching courses in Economics, Business Statistics, and Information Technology.
At age 24, Joseph is a faculty member at the Columbia University School of Professional Studies and a member of the Grammy Recording Academy (GrammyU).
Before his 25th birthday, he became the first-ever graduate in Felician University history to have received a doctorate degree in Business Administration.
One would think he was able to accomplish these feats with no stress but Joseph said it’s completely the opposite. “Throughout my studies, I had to deal with academic and professional politics along the way. I sent thousands of different job applications to prominent firms, only to be rejected by each and every one of them”.
“I felt isolated at times as I struggled with the notion that I had to accomplish my objectives alone. I overcame the struggle of rejection and feeling isolated by seeking valuable advice and mentorship from other professionals who had similar experiences,” he told VoyageATL in an interview.
Unlike many 25-year-olds, Joseph’s occupation differs depending on the time of the day. He is currently a faculty member at Columbia University and Queens College.
He specializes in data analytics, statistics, and behavioral finance and he is also a medical examiner at Quest Diagnostics, a Fortune 500 health care company where he records and verify medical information of prospective insurers.
“As a medical examiner, I am responsible for recording and collecting the client’s physical measurements, vital signs, urine sample, blood samples and/or saliva samples for major insurance firms like AIG, Prudential, Williams Penn, John Hancock, New York Life, and State Farm Life Insurance.
“My diversified skills allow me to generate multiple income streams in a variety of sectors,” he said.
The young professor credits his success to his mother and his entire family. “They played a big role in my development”, he stated.
Joseph has been named a Forbes Under 30 Scholar for the 2nd consecutive year.
