Feisal

After graduating from YCCS – Innovations High School, I took some time to work and reflect on my next steps. I also enrolled at Wilbur Wright College as a part-time student while I made plans for my future.

Although I had a strong interest in engineering, I also enrolled in other courses, including math, biology, history, and computer science. I had many interests but no clear roadmap. That was until one day, during my Intro to Computer Science class, that roadmap began to take shape. Associate Dean Bridget O’Connell from the engineering program visited my class to discuss the Pathways program. She laid out how Wright provided a structured, affordable pathway for students to earn an associate in engineering science and transfer as a junior to top engineering schools.

At that point, I had already been accepted into several universities, but the opportunity to complete two years at Wilbur Wright and transfer directly into the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) with little to no tuition debt was too compelling to pass up.

The next day, I attended office hours to learn more. Dr. Doris Espiritu, who was leading the engineering program at the time, explained the program and its possibilities. Although my academic path had been somewhat unstructured before this conversation, I was encouraged that with focus, hard work, and strong grades, anything was possible. Past life experiences had shown me that I was capable of navigating obstacles, I had a strong work ethic, and now Wright had provided me with a plan.

Through Wright’s engineering program, I committed to computer science, a field I had long been curious about but never fully envisioned for myself at a top engineering institution. Beyond academics, Wright provided a strong sense of community and leadership. I served as membership lead for the newly established National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) chapter and worked as a peer mentor, supporting other students’ academic and personal goals.

With guidance from Associate Dean Bridget and the engineering program, I applied for competitive scholarships, was named a semifinalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, and ultimately received the CME Foundation Scholarship, a $20,000 annual renewable award.

After graduating from Wilbur Wright College, I transferred to UIUC as a computer science major in the Grainger College of Engineering. The rigor and discipline I developed at Wright prepared me well. After my first year, I secured a software engineering internship at Microsoft and spent the summer at its Redmond, Washington campus. The experience felt full circle: I was first introduced to computers through Microsoft products, and now I was working alongside the people who built them.

Following the internship, I returned to UIUC for my senior year, where I remained active in NSBE, attended national conferences, and completed a senior capstone project for the state of Illinois through a university partnership. After graduating, I accepted a full-time return offer from Microsoft and moved to Seattle, where I have been working in the Azure Identity organization for the past year and a half. None of this would have been possible without my time at Wright, and I am deeply grateful for the foundation, guidance, and opportunities it provided.

-Feisal, Wilbur Wright College, 2022