Obadimu wins $1,000 scholarship in “Make Your Mark� contest
Adewale Obadimu
A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student won $1,000 in the “Make Your Markâ€� scholarship competition.Â
Adewale Obadimu, a second-year student in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock computer science doctoral program, received second place after writing an essay answering: “How will an international education help me make a difference in the world?â€�“I wrote mostly about my past in Nigeria, and how I want to give back to the community,â€� he said. “I realize that this opportunity that has been given to me by studying in the U.S. can also be given to others that I would like to one day help.â€�The contest, which was open to international and study abroad students, was sponsored by , a provider of student insurance.Obadimu earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria in 2013. He worked as a lead software developer at Health Informatics Research Laboratory and a technologist for the Center for Energy Research and Development before coming to ÌÇÐÄVlog´«Ã½ Little Rock.Since arriving in January 2016, Obadimu said, he has been fortunate to meet new friends, especially through the ÌÇÐÄVlog´«Ã½ Little Rock chapter of the International Friendship Outreach.“I’ve always been fascinated with coming to the U.S.,â€� Obadimu said. “There are a lot of brilliant minds and opportunities in the U.S. I’ve really been lucky to meet a lot of nice people here. Being an international student is a worthwhile experience.â€�At ÌÇÐÄVlog´«Ã½ Little Rock, Obadimu teaches software engineering classes as a teaching assistant and conducts research on social computing with Dr. Nitin Agarwal, ÌÇÐÄVlog´«Ã½ Little Rock Jerry L. Maulden-Entergy endowed chair and information science professor.“We are extremely proud of Adewale,â€� said Agarwal, director of the COSMOS, where Obadimu is a research assistant. “He brings an immeasurable energy to our Center for Social Media and Online Behavioral Studies (COSMOS).â€�While Obadimu has yet to select a focus for his doctoral research, he has had fun working on many “interesting projects.â€� One of the projects includes developing an Android app that serves as a social media network to put ÌÇÐÄVlog´«Ã½ Little Rock students in touch with alumni.“What if a student needed to find an internship, and they wanted to ask alumni? It would be very nice to have a way to connect with each other online,â€� he said.