Mohammed (Computer Science, NYU)

Mohammed has already come a long way. Born in Nigeria, he came here 16 years ago. He will shortly graduate from the Manhattan Center for Science and Math, a highly selective school where 5,400 candidates apply for 400 places. Mohammed’s talents are strikingly varied. His special academic strengths are both computer science and history. He writes fiction and is interested in manga and anime — both stylized ways of illustrated storytelling with roots in Japan. He teaches computer coding — using a curriculum he helped design — for a foundation whose focus is developing a new generation of tech-savvy entrepreneurs among young men of color. And he already has a large following as a game designer. Perhaps reflecting this wide range of interests, he says, “I see college as a networking experience.” The next stop on Mohammed’s voyage will be New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering.