The Hispanic Association of Computing College Students (HACCS) at NJIT’s Ying Wu College of Computing has taken off and is already seeing a great turnout in their inaugural meetings. 

This Hispanic-oriented club seeks to cater to the needs of Hispanic computing students and create a group that will allow them to support each other with computing coursework and make ties that create a homelike atmosphere at NJIT.

For Lara Rios ’23, NJIT has been an important part of her family’s life. Her uncle and father graduated from NJIT, and her brother is also studying at the university. As president of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and diversity and inclusion officer of the Student Senate, Rios has always made it her number one priority to help her fellow peers feel at home at NJIT.

Ever since Jason Ogbebor set foot in a chemistry classroom in high school, he knew he was destined to conduct high-level, impactful research. Looking to science legends — Mendeleev, Bohr, Einstein — Ogbebor is realizing his dreams and is on his way to pursue a Ph.D. at MIT.

New Jersey Institute of Technology served up waves of fanfare as its advanced degree graduates walked across the stage in the Wellness and Events Center in three commencement ceremonies on May 16.

It all started in sixth grade. Nikole Marin ’23 needed to select what she wanted to study for a class and because she didn’t want to go through the long list of choices, she selected among the first ones in the “A” section. Ultimately, that quick selection has led her to achieving two degrees from NJIT – Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Science in Architecture.

“I love working with building blocks, I love to draw, I love to design and create spaces ever since I was a little girl,” said Marin. “So I decided that I wanted to pursue that from the sixth grade.”

Erick Mejia’s fascinating story is adding another chapter as the Ecuadorian-native is now the first in his family to graduate college. Never forgetting his roots, the digital designer looks for ways to include his love of his home culture and country in his work.

“I moved here in 2011, knowing a little bit of English, almost nothing at all. I was missing home every single day, missing Ecuador, and nature,” said Mejia. “Over here, there's not much nature, we have the city, so coming to the city was a big change for me.”

Constance Chu’s passion for interior design started at a young age, assisting her mother — an interior designer — in picking samples and colors. Thanks to this early exposure, Chu trained a design muscle that has evolved into an education and career.

“That's just kind of always been what I've been surrounded by,” said the interior design senior and Albert Dorman scholar. “It instilled in me a sort of eye for design that I've been training over the years like picking out details in spaces that maybe other people don't see, and really understanding what that does to space. 

During her four years at NJIT, Haylee Merola has used her imagination and visualization to create different types of work in her interior design studios. Whether the project was a sci-fi movie, a retail store, an airport lounge or designing clothing for a fashion show, Merola always made sure to add her style.

Students at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have again achieved an impressive amount of prestigious awards this year with 11 students earning nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships. Their achievement continues NJIT run, with Highlanders amassing 34 of these awards in the past three years.

A marquee event during Inauguration Week was the Scholarship Reception and Networking event, which invites generous benefactors who have created scholarships at the university to engage directly with the student beneficiaries at a celebratory luncheon.

The event humanizes and demonstrates the impact of giving back and removing a financial burden to those who may need it most, as President Teik C. Lim told his own story of how a scholarship changed his, and subsequently his family’s life.