Favour

Creating a Community for Black Students

In Caltech's community, computer science major Favour Okodogbe thrives in her courses and internships and also helped found the school's Black Student Union.

When Favour Okodogbe ‘25 started researching colleges as a high school student, she felt lost and intimidated by the admissions process.

"Being that I'm a first-generation Nigerian American, first-generation college student, and the firstborn, no one was really there to guide me," she said.

The New York native did know she wanted to find a school on the West Coast where she could join a swim team and pursue STEM courses as a computer science (CS) major. She saw Caltech listed on the swimming recruiting portal and, after researching the school, reached out to Andy Brabson, the swim coach.

"I actually had not heard about Caltech before because it's such a small school, and I'm from the East Coast," she said. "Andy was really helpful with answering all my questions about the school."

Then, while looking for financial aid opportunities, Favour learned she could apply to Caltech via the QuestBridge program, which offers low-income high school seniors a four-year scholarship after an application and match process. After becoming a QuestBridge finalist, she matched with Caltech, enrolled in the school, and joined the swim team.

Gaining Confidence as a Black Computer Science Major at Caltech

Before coming to Caltech, Favour had only completed one computer science class. But she knew fellow incoming computer science majors had taken multiple CS courses or had experience coding.

"I definitely felt behind, and there were a lot of factors that I was mentally putting in to make me feel like I wasn't good enough, for example, being younger than everyone and being a Black woman here," she admitted.

One Caltech resource that helped her transition to campus was the First-Year Success Research Institute (FSRI). This program brings incoming first-year undergraduates to Caltech the summer before their first term for academic enrichment, research experience, and peer relationships.

"FSRI was a good introduction to being around people in STEM and meeting a couple of cool Black people I didn't know would be there, being that the diversity rate was super low at Caltech," she explained. "FRSI has built a community, and even now, I'm friends with the majority of them that I had in my cohort."

Completing Computer Science Research and Internships

As Favour adjusted to Caltech and mastered her computer science courses, she found internship and undergraduate research opportunities that complemented her major.

"I did an internship at JPMorgan for machine learning, AI, and data science," she explained. "Being that I'm very interested in data science, it was really helpful for me to see that I'm also really enjoying doing it in the real world."

Favour also completed an internship at JPL that combined earth science, data science, and machine learning. Using satellite images, she made subset images of Long Island coastlines to enhance training data for machine learning models that predict coastline changes. Completing industry and research internships showed Favour that she's come a long way from being a nervous first-year student.

"After my internships, I realized I'm able to apply what I've learned, even when it feels like I'm not doing good enough," she said proudly. "Because I did well in my internships, I could see my progress and know I can apply what I've been learning in the real world."

Creating a Diverse and Inclusive Community at Caltech

One of Favour's most cherished achievements at Caltech occured during her sophomore year. She founded the school's first Black Student Union with four of her friends to create a space and share resources for Black students.

"We want people to know there are Black students in Caltech, and we are proud to be Caltech students and Black," she said. "This was a huge opportunity that I'm so happy to be a part of because I am proud to be Nigerian and American, and I feel like other people have that same feeling."

The Black Student Union holds regular events, including game nights, midterm and final decompression times, and hair workshops. They also partner with Caltech's Center for Inclusion & Diversity (CFID), which has been instrumental in the school's commitment to diversity.

Favour is also part of the reinvigorated Black Scientists & Engineers of Caltech, which sends students to the National Society for Black Engineers' annual conference. The event hosts students from all over the country to hear speakers and network.

"Believe it or not, in 2016, Caltech didn't have any Black students to send to the conference. But now, it's a waitlist because of how active our club is," she said with a smile. "It's something we're very proud of and take very seriously because we love to make an impact and strive forward in everything we do."

Prepared for Success

While Favour's days seem filled with academics and extracurricular activities, she said she also balances her schedule with rest.

"I usually go hardcore during the week, but I take my weekends very seriously," she said. "I am not on campus, even if I'm in Pasadena. I like to go out with my friends; we went to the beach last weekend!"

With this holistic approach, Favour feels ready to embark on her next chapter, where she can transition from academic pursuits to professional endeavors in computer science.

"For this summer, I want to do internships in data science or artificial intelligence," she declared. "Then, when it comes to post-graduation, with my interest in data science, I'm definitely looking to work in industry but also get my master's at the same time."