Adiza Okine
Information Technology
From Africa to Ohio, Central Ohio Technical College student Adiza Okine has found a supportive community that will help her achieve her career goals. After moving to Newark five years ago, she realized that she could pursue a degree in information technology thanks to COTC’s campus being just fifteen minutes from her home with her aunt.
“I chose IT software development and programming because I want to be an IT specialist in software and coding. Also, my dad and brother are technicians, so it’s like technology runs in the blood,” said Okine.
She began working on her Associate of Applied Business in Information Technology in the summer of 2019. COTC has made her educational journey easier through scholarships, helpful faculty and staff and real-world experience.
“The Gateway staff including my advisor and my professors have helped me figure out and keep on track with my plan of study,” Okine said. “They also helped me apply for financial aid that have made things much easier for me.”
She is a recipient of the John and Mary Alford Scholarship that is awarded to students who have a history of good academic performance with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0, a demonstrated financial need and are a resident of Licking County.
“I was very grateful to receive the Alford Scholarship for 2020 and 2021. It helps me with school, books and other financial issues I face,” said Okine.
She has been on the Dean’s Honors List every semester since spring 2019. To qualify for the list, students must earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher and have completed six or more credit hours (excluding satisfactory/unsatisfactory courses) in a semester.
Along with her work in the classroom, Okine completed an internship with IT company XTEK Partners in Columbus during the 2021 summer semester. This real-world experience helped her learn the ins and outs of working with clients to provide IT product acquisition, configuration and deployment and managed services such as network and cloud migration strategies.
Okine is on track to graduate in spring 2022.