When Seyi Olusina ’18 came to Virginia Tech to study human nutrition, foods, and exercise, he planned to become a physical therapist. An exercise physiology class — and a caring professor — helped him see another path in healthcare
Today, Olusina is an administrative director of urgent care for Atrium Health in Charlotte, where he oversees 10 urgent care clinics. Outside of work, he hosts a podcast about the city, stays active with the Virginia Tech Alumni Association, and recently returned to campus to teach a healthcare administration course for undergraduate students in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise (HNFE)
Olusina and his wife, Hokie Althea (Olinger) Olusina ’16, MSBA ’17, are eager to welcome their first child in September
We recently spoke to Olusina about the unexpected turn that shaped his career, the people who made a difference along the way, and why Virginia Tech remains such a big part of his life
What are you up to these days? Tell us about your work and what a typical day looks like
These days, I live in Charlotte with my wife, who is also a Hokie. We met our freshman year, started dating our sophomore year, and have been together ever since. We moved here in 2020 and have fallen in love with the city. We have great friends and a great community here, and we love how close it is to Blacksburg. This September, we are expecting our first child. We are excited to add a little Hokie to the family and are already planning trips back for Hokie sports and reunion weekends
For work, I am an administrative director of urgent care for Atrium Health, a healthcare system based in Charlotte that is part of Advocate Health. I have been with the system since I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with my master’s in healthcare administration in 2020. I started as an administrative fellow and have worked my way up to my current role, where I am responsible for 10 urgent care facilities across South Charlotte and South Carolina, including two pediatric urgent cares
No day is ever the same for me in urgent care, and that is part of the fun. On a typical workday, I might have a meeting about staffing and hiring for our clinics, then head out to one of the clinics to talk with the team and see how things are going. That could be followed by analyzing data to look at a clinic’s growth and ways to create more capacity for patients. I love the variety of the work and being part of helping patients in my community get the care they need
Looking back, what’s one experience from your time in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences that has stayed with you?
One experience that has stayed with me and helped shape where I am today was taking exercise physiology with Professor Jay Williams in HNFE. He was one of my favorite professors, but his class made me realize I did not want to pursue physical therapy anymore. It was a great class, but it finally clicked that I was not passionate about the material and didn’t want to study more of it in PT school
That had been my clear goal since I arrived at Virginia Tech, so I was worried about making a change and didn’t know what I could do instead. When I talked to Dr. Williams, he told me it was OK to change my mind and that it wasn’t a failure. He even suggested healthcare administration to me because of my involvement as a student leader. That assurance from a professor was a great relief
Last year, I finally got the chance to see him and thank him for those words of encouragement and tell him that his advice had paid off. Those conversations are the foundation for where I am in my career now
What keeps you busy when you’re not at work?
When I’m not busy at work, there are a few things I really enjoy doing. I am the host of a podcast called “Queen City Unleashed” and it is all about Charlotte. I talk to business owners and leaders across the city and help share their stories with the people of Charlotte. I started in 2024, and in 2025, we were voted the best local podcast in Charlotte
We do everything ourselves, and it is a lot of work, but I love storytelling and our city, so getting the opportunity to help amplify amazing people doing incredible things for Charlotte is an honor. We also host events with some of our guests to give people a chance to interact with businesses they may have never heard of. We recently celebrated 50 episodes and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon
Outside of that, I love playing on my men’s soccer team each week and getting out to local events. I am sure that with the little Hokie on the way, what I do when I’m not working is going to be a lot more focused on her — and that excites me
How do you stay connected to Virginia Tech today?
I taught a class in spring 2026 in my home department of HNFE. It was an introduction to healthcare administration course designed to give students exposure to a field I knew nothing about at their age. I had guest speakers from different sectors of health care administration come in and talk to students to give them some insight into their worlds
It was such a fun and rewarding experience because most of the students did not know anything about healthcare administration when the class started. By the end of the semester, students had a much greater appreciation for the administrative side, and some have even decided to pursue it. This was such a special way to give back and brought everything full circle for me
My wife and I also love to come back to Blacksburg for football games. There is nothing like a fall Saturday cheering on the Hokies. I also serve on the Virginia Tech Alumni AssociationBoard of Directors. I have been on the board for three years, and before that, I served on the Student Affairs Young Alumni Board for three years
It is an honor to have a voice for Hokies across the country and help the university work toward its goals. We are also involved in the Charlotte alumni chapter and help lead the annual 3.2-mile Run in Remembrance right here in Charlotte
Who had the biggest impact on your time at Virginia Tech and why?
Leaders in Student Affairs like Dr. Frank Shushok and Dr. Frances Keene took me in and gave me opportunities to grow as a leader. They didn’t just “see potential” — they helped me nurture that skill and understand the kind of human and leader I wanted to be
They put me on work groups and councils that helped me find and refine my voice as a leader. That confidence I gained there still follows me to this day
What’s one fun fact about you that most people don’t know?
My grandfather actually came to Virginia Tech from Nigeria back in the 1970s to learn about agriculture because he taught it back in Nigeria. My parents then immigrated to America in the early 1990s and had me and my two siblings here
Growing up in Virginia with that connection, all I have known is the Hokies, so it was a dream fulfilled to attend and graduate from Virginia Tech
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