International Student Finds American Education Led to Dream Career
An international student who is graduating this semester said that earning his graduate degree at UA Little Rock and finding a new career as a data engineer has been a “dream come true.”
“As I approach graduation, I am excited about my future plans to move to Arizona and work as a data engineer for a big financial company, American Express,” said Ifeanyichukwu Umoga, who will graduate with a master’s degree in information science. “Coming in as an international student, it’s like a dream come true for me. I am very excited to graduate and see what awaits me.”
A native of Nigeria, Umoga earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronic engineering from Landmark University and worked as an information technology support engineer for Ehealth4everyone in Abuja, Nigeria.
After Umoga’s brother earned a master’s degree in computer science from UA Little Rock, the engineer did some research and decided that the information science program was a perfect match with his interest.
“As an international student, I was initially apprehensive about the move, but I quickly found that UA Little Rock became my second home,” Umoga said. “My experience at the university was nothing short of positive and exciting. The classes I took were insightful and eye-opening, providing me with valuable knowledge and skills.”
Feeling fortunate for his good experiences in Arkansas, Umoga wanted to give back.
As a member of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry, Umoga volunteered on disaster relief trips. He’s also volunteered at the Family Assistance Center, helping distribute relief materials for people affected by the EF3 tornado that struck central Arkansas on March 31.
At UA Little Rock, Umoga worked as a graduate research assistant in the Collaboratorium for Social Media and Online Behavioral Studies (COSMOS) Research Center, where he analyzed social media data to track the spread of misinformation on the internet as well as collected blog data to understand online discourse within the Indo-Pacific region.
“This experience allowed me to hone my data engineer skills and work on exciting projects,” Umoga said. “I also had the chance to intern at Roku Inc. over the summer, which gave me real-world experience in the field of information science. I was a quality assurance test engineer with the tech team in Austin. The city is so fast paced, and it was exciting to see another part of America.”
