Graduate College and College of Veterinary Medicine

Transcript

Six undergraduate colleges and endless opportunities, but wait everyone, there’s much, much more. Iowa State also boasts a graduate college and a College of Veterinary Medicine. Joining us next is Chidinma. She is pursuing a PhD in human computer interaction and design in Iowa State’s graduate college. You’re gonna wanna listen to her story of perseverance and her goal to make the world a better place. Please take it away.

– Hello, everyone. Thanks for that introduction, Alex. I’m from San Jose, California originally from Nigeria. I worked full-time while doing my undergraduate studies to learn and gain experience in the information technology field at another university. However, I was having trouble finding opportunities to learn more. That was until I discovered the human computer interaction graduate program at Iowa State University. With experience working in Silicon Valley for companies like Facebook and Western Digital, I knew exactly where I wanted to expand my knowledge in virtual reality. Upon contacting the virtual reality application center at Iowa State, I was convinced this was the best program for me. I started classes online in California and was well supported with enough face time for my advisors and professors to help me tackle hard problems. The pandemic was hard for everyone. On a personal level, I experienced underemployment, job loss and a lot of stress. I finally took the opportunity to pursue my long term goal to complete graduate school. I started out slow and I was amazed at the opportunities that opened to me as I embarked on my journey at the graduate school at Iowa State University. I learned I am capable of doing so much more. By becoming a user researcher, I can create tangible things within the human computer interaction field to make our lives easier and solve problems like quoting production waste and manufacturing global pollution. Thanks to the innovation at Iowa State University, I’m ready to tackle these challenges. Now back to you, Alex.

– Thank you so much, Chidinma. What an incredible story. You’re gonna have a big impact in our ever-changing world.