Posted:

March 27, 2019

When Computer Science alum Ismail Abiola came to Century College from his native Nigeria,  he had only been in the United States for four months, and hadn’t taken any programming classes before. “My first class was C++, and it was very challenging.  Robert Neimann, my teacher, was really good and very, very helpful.” Ismail remembers. In fact, Ismail enjoyed his classes so much, he earned three degrees over the course of three years, including an Associate in Arts degree and degrees in Computer Science and CIS.

“Century College has a good quality computer science program that is affordable, and the small class sizes help students to be able to connect with professors easily.  I live close to other community colleges, but I knew that Century College was the right one for me.” Ismail says. 

While at the College, he also participated in TRIO and was a member of Phi Theta Kappa.  ”The College was a second home for me and, most importantly, an academic home,” Ismail says. ”My experience at Century College is the foundation of my academic and career success. Without it, I might be nowhere by now.  I was able to take classes that transferred easily to a 4-year college.” 

After getting his Associates degree, Ismail was able to get an entry-level IT position at 3M, which opened many doors. He transferred to Metropolitan State University while working full time. He adds, “I have successfully completed my bachelors degree and now work as a software engineer for Andersen Corporation. All my success started at Century College. Without Century, it might have been impossible.  If Century were a 4-year school, I would have stayed.” 

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