Originally from Ethiopia, homeowners Obur and Kom traveled through Africa to build a new life in the United States. Their son Ojulu, the second of six children, was just eight years–old when they arrived. One of his first memories in the US was the joy of tasting ice cream for the first time. Adjusting to a new life was a transition, but Ojulu quickly adapted. He was already bilingual in Amharic and Anywaa, and he soon learned English during elementary and middle school.
In 2018, their family partnered with Habitat and became proud homeowners. Ojulu vividly remembers the excitement of choosing his own room, finally having a space to call his own. “Before, we worried about rent and sometimes even food,” he shares. Homeownership brought financial stability, allowing the family to focus on education and other opportunities.
The affordability that came with their new home even allowed his parents to buy him a car for commuting to school.
Education was a primary reason for Obur, who made the sacrifice of not going to school, to bring his family to the US. Ojulu is determined to honor his father’s sacrifice by becoming a first-generation college graduate, joining his older sister who received a full basketball scholarship and plans to play professionally in Europe. Inspired by his sister’s achievements, Ojulu is self-funding his education with the help of this scholarship that will help him to complete his last two years strong.
Ojulu earned his associate’s degree in Business IT from Marian University St. Joseph’s College while working to support his education. Now, he is majoring in Computer Science at Indiana University Indianapolis. At Marian, he was active in the gaming club, organizing events and workshops to help students learn about technology and fix their tech issues.
He also took pride in teaching himself PYTHON, a programming language.
Ojulu aims to make the Dean’s list again this semester at Indiana University Indianapolis. He is also excited about the wider variety of extracurricular activities and hopes to make new connections. Outside of school, he enjoys reading, watching anime, and spending time with friends. Over the summer, he discovered a new passion for coding, training himself in new software to prepare for the upcoming school year.
Looking ahead, Ojulu hopes to start a career as a software engineer or data analyst. Knowing this field is very competitive, he is thinking of going back for his master’s after his bachelor’s. Ojulu hopes to use his education to give back to the community by teaching youth about computer science and IT.
His advice to aspiring students is, “When you’re in school, do school. Let that be your focus and take every opportunity you get.”
