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Emmanuel Adu

Emmanuel Adu

Emmanuel's six-year college journey was met with obstacles. But his reliance, and the support of a caring community, made for a story of success.

Emmanuel Adu portrait
Emmanuel Adu

When I was a child, my family and I immigrated from Nigeria to the United States, and I grew up in Westerville, Ohio. As a young boy, I was obsessed with astronauts and had always dreamed of studying engineering. That passion continued during high school and throughout college.

Scholarship support enabled me to continue my studies, even though I had run out of other financial aid and thought I would have to drop out. Not only that, but because I no longer had to work two to three jobs while attending school, I was able to significantly boost my GPA.

Graduation feels like an amazing accomplishment following my difficult, six-year journey through college. After high school, I suffered a concussion, which led to severe amnesia. Although I had already been accepted into Ohio State, I had to take remedial courses at a community college to relearn basic concepts.

The past year has been extra tough for me. I lost two close family members to COVID-19. My financial situation worsened, and for a while I wasn’t sure how I would be able to graduate. But with understanding and encouragement from faculty and staff at the College of Engineering — and the support I received from donors — I was ready to begin the next chapter of my life.

“You never really know what else that student you are supporting is going through, and you can be the reason they are able to graduate and make a huge contribution to society.”

Emmanuel Adu ’21, College of Engineering

You never really know what else that student you are supporting is going through, and you can be the reason they are able to graduate and make a huge contribution to society.

Today, I am a graduate of Ohio State with a degree in aerospace engineering and part of a two-year rotational program in software engineering at CapitalOne. I don’t think words can describe how excited and thankful I am to be a Buckeye engineer.

I am infinitely grateful donors and their commitment to scholarships. I worked hard to earn my degree and I succeeded, with their help.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!
Emmanuel Adu ’21

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