Dr. Eli Joseph, at just 28 years old, has made history as the youngest Black instructor to teach at three prestigious universities simultaneously: Columbia University, New York University, and UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles).
In 2021, Dr. Eli Joseph gave a ceremonial speech to the class of 2023 graduates at the School of Professional Studies at both Columbia and NYU. Despite his impressive achievements, Dr. Joseph has faced numerous failures and rejection throughout his life. He has been turned down by over 1,500 employers, 30 colleges, and 75 scholarship foundations, including elite institutions such as Princeton, UPenn, Cornell University, Dartmouth University, and Brown University. In 2012, he received a rejection letter from Columbia University, where he now serves as an associate faculty in the Applied Analytics program at the School of Professional Studies. Similarly, he was rejected by the New York University Tandon School of Engineering in 2016 but now teaches graduate students at the NYU School of Professional Studies.
Dr. Joseph has also received thousands of rejection notices from companies in finance, technology, and managerial consulting, including JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Google, Amazon, and Deloitte, among others. Despite these challenges, he has used his failures as motivation for success and has overcome personal and professional obstacles, including the loss of his older brother in the past year.
Dr. Eli Joseph delivered two TEDx talks in fall 2020, titled “Time Is Your BiggestCompetition” and “No Trace, No Case,” sharing his insights and experiences. He earned his Doctorate in Business Administration from Felician University, where he was the first-ever graduate to complete the curriculum at the age of 24. Dr. Joseph is also the author of the best-selling book, “The Perfect Rejection Resume: A Reader’s Guide to Building a Career Through Failure.”
