Hope For Knowledge
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Hi. I thought I would start this off with a little bit of courtesy and hope whoever is reading this is well and safe during these troubling times. My name is Brian Otieno Odhiambo. I am a junior undergraduate student pursuing computer science at Stockton University.
I transferred to Stockton from Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya. I am in my second semester here and counting my eighth month living in the United States. What made me choose Stockton? I loved the fact that it is within the pine barrens. I adored the scenery I saw through the campus YouTube vlog. It struck me as a calm and serene place to study. Also, it ranks highly among the best public universities in the North at position nine by the US News and World Report 2019.
With a student to faculty of 17:1, I knew I would get the most out of the lectures, and the professors would cater to my needs in case I struggled to understand something. I was not wrong. The professors were kind and approachable. With their help and my hard work, I managed to attain a GPA of 3.9. The reason why I chose to major in computer science was that at an early age, I had a fascination with technology. Watching Cartoon Network, I would see commercials in between shows of white children in my age group playing with action figures. I fantasized about having one. I had a liking for W.W.E wrestling and DC comics. I wanted action figures of both Batman and Bill Goldberg since they were my childhood heroes.In retrospect, my admiration for these icons stemmed from growing up without a father and nobody to look up to as my hero. The passing of my dad when I was 3 years old, left a void in my heart and I still struggle to this day with it. Unfortunately, my mother could not afford to buy them because, with the little money she had, her sole goal was to invest in my education.
Unlike most children, I did not throw any tantrums. I knew I had to work with what I had. In life, when there is a need for something, an innovation must be made to meet the demand. Hence, I would take plastic pegs and join them to form robots and brand them as Decepticons and build a hero who would be Voltron as the only one who could destroy them and save the universe. I would use a rubber band attach to the edge of a particular peg and bend the wire in a shape of a trigger so that when you pull it, it can shoot another peg just like firing a missile in real life.
Fast forward to 2016. I realized that there was a crisis going on in Kenya. Where there was corruption in medical institutions with fraudulent doctors creating ways of using fake claims in a bid to defraud medical insurance companies. To address this problem, I decided to build a prototype that can detect the fingerprints of a patient visiting a hospital and signal the insurance agency of an admission. Followed by a validation sequence beginning with the patient confirming his or her details. The step initializes before allowing for the transfer of funds from the insurance bank account to the hospital’s account to cater to the outstanding bill. After this, there would be a digital receipt provided which would assist insurance agents in confirming that there was no foul play and hence pave the way for transparency. A demo presentation of this invention is on YouTube via this link https://youtu.be/pAOPNJp0gAQ.
It is with disappointment to say now my solution didn’t kick off as I would have expected due to political interference. However, a silver lining was spotted. My mother had seen the passion I had in using technology in striving to make the world a better place and encouraged me to pursue computer science. I knew if I came to the United States, I would receive world-class training and teaching concerning coding and analytical skills. Thus, help sharpen my techniques in problem-solving. My mother has been my pillar of support throughout this entire journey as she had believed in me, ever since seeing how I would make do with what I had as a child and strive to come up with something even if I had nothing. She has solely been paying for my tuition.
When the pandemic hit, things took a different turn in my home country. The economy was affected. Mass unemployment increased. At that moment, I was completing my spring semester. My mother informed me she was not receiving her monthly salary. The reason is that the company she worked for was not receiving any revenue. During the summer, I had to figure out a way to clear my spring balance so that I may register for the fall. My mother had to sell our rural home at a loss because the real estate sector also took a hit. All in a bid to help settle the money owed to the school. I tried selling my blood plasma so that with the little money I attained, I could buy books. Given the status of my visa, I lack the authorization to work outside the campus. I lost my campus job because of the safety restrictions imposed. I also have attempted to look for aid. Unfortunately, I do not qualify for federal assistance because I am not a citizen or a permanent residence.
Therefore, your support will go a long way in assisting me during this hard time I am facing and help keep alive my vision of changing the world to a better place. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
I transferred to Stockton from Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya. I am in my second semester here and counting my eighth month living in the United States. What made me choose Stockton? I loved the fact that it is within the pine barrens. I adored the scenery I saw through the campus YouTube vlog. It struck me as a calm and serene place to study. Also, it ranks highly among the best public universities in the North at position nine by the US News and World Report 2019.
With a student to faculty of 17:1, I knew I would get the most out of the lectures, and the professors would cater to my needs in case I struggled to understand something. I was not wrong. The professors were kind and approachable. With their help and my hard work, I managed to attain a GPA of 3.9. The reason why I chose to major in computer science was that at an early age, I had a fascination with technology. Watching Cartoon Network, I would see commercials in between shows of white children in my age group playing with action figures. I fantasized about having one. I had a liking for W.W.E wrestling and DC comics. I wanted action figures of both Batman and Bill Goldberg since they were my childhood heroes.In retrospect, my admiration for these icons stemmed from growing up without a father and nobody to look up to as my hero. The passing of my dad when I was 3 years old, left a void in my heart and I still struggle to this day with it. Unfortunately, my mother could not afford to buy them because, with the little money she had, her sole goal was to invest in my education.
Unlike most children, I did not throw any tantrums. I knew I had to work with what I had. In life, when there is a need for something, an innovation must be made to meet the demand. Hence, I would take plastic pegs and join them to form robots and brand them as Decepticons and build a hero who would be Voltron as the only one who could destroy them and save the universe. I would use a rubber band attach to the edge of a particular peg and bend the wire in a shape of a trigger so that when you pull it, it can shoot another peg just like firing a missile in real life.
Fast forward to 2016. I realized that there was a crisis going on in Kenya. Where there was corruption in medical institutions with fraudulent doctors creating ways of using fake claims in a bid to defraud medical insurance companies. To address this problem, I decided to build a prototype that can detect the fingerprints of a patient visiting a hospital and signal the insurance agency of an admission. Followed by a validation sequence beginning with the patient confirming his or her details. The step initializes before allowing for the transfer of funds from the insurance bank account to the hospital’s account to cater to the outstanding bill. After this, there would be a digital receipt provided which would assist insurance agents in confirming that there was no foul play and hence pave the way for transparency. A demo presentation of this invention is on YouTube via this link https://youtu.be/pAOPNJp0gAQ.
It is with disappointment to say now my solution didn’t kick off as I would have expected due to political interference. However, a silver lining was spotted. My mother had seen the passion I had in using technology in striving to make the world a better place and encouraged me to pursue computer science. I knew if I came to the United States, I would receive world-class training and teaching concerning coding and analytical skills. Thus, help sharpen my techniques in problem-solving. My mother has been my pillar of support throughout this entire journey as she had believed in me, ever since seeing how I would make do with what I had as a child and strive to come up with something even if I had nothing. She has solely been paying for my tuition.
When the pandemic hit, things took a different turn in my home country. The economy was affected. Mass unemployment increased. At that moment, I was completing my spring semester. My mother informed me she was not receiving her monthly salary. The reason is that the company she worked for was not receiving any revenue. During the summer, I had to figure out a way to clear my spring balance so that I may register for the fall. My mother had to sell our rural home at a loss because the real estate sector also took a hit. All in a bid to help settle the money owed to the school. I tried selling my blood plasma so that with the little money I attained, I could buy books. Given the status of my visa, I lack the authorization to work outside the campus. I lost my campus job because of the safety restrictions imposed. I also have attempted to look for aid. Unfortunately, I do not qualify for federal assistance because I am not a citizen or a permanent residence.
Therefore, your support will go a long way in assisting me during this hard time I am facing and help keep alive my vision of changing the world to a better place. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Organizer
Brian Odhiambo
Organizer
Absecon, NJ
