In October, Dr. Jelani Nelson, the recently selected chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley, visited Ile Omode, speaking to the middle school Computer Technology class. Dr. Nelson first heard about Ile Omode and its exceptional math program while interacting with former parents at a local high school. He had hoped to learn more about the school and perhaps offer his expertise to support the school and its students. Thus, the students were excited to receive him during a Computer Technology course, where he shared his background and the process towards earning a Ph.D. After earning his bachelor, masters and Ph.D. degrees from MIT, he taught at Harvard for several years before moving to Berkeley. His education is clearly impressive, and his explanation of his educational journey, encouraged several students to further consider the prospects of earning a Ph.D. For King, an 8th grader, Dr. Nelson’s presentation helped him further define his goals. “Now I definitely want to get a Ph.D.”, he said after learning how much computer science and engineering professors are earning. Beyond teaching and mentoring doctoral candidates at Berkeley, Dr. Nelson started and runs summer academies in Jamaica and Ethiopia. The camps, focused on computer programming and algorithms (coding strategies), have provided training to over 700 students. Ile Omode is presently working on coordinating a visit to Berkeley and connecting with the professors and doctoral students to learn more about graduate studies in the fields. 
