Senior is first Gates Scholar at George Ranch
Ejeh Okorafor feels destined to do something great — but he isn’t sure exactly what that will be yet.
“One day, I’ll see a problem and I’ll make something and it will be what the world needs,” the 17-year old senior at George Ranch High School said. “That’s what I envision.”
From an early age, Okorafor has loved science.
“Most kids would come home from school and watch cartoons,” he recalled. “I would turn on the Discovery Channel, have an after-school snack and just watch that. It was the coolest thing ever.”
His favorite show was “How It’s Made” — and even as a child, the show inspired him to start dreaming up inventions.
“I was always interested in building stuff and making stuff,” he said. “I would fill the house with random stuff I was making. I would make things out of K’nex and LEGOS, and robots out of cardboard.”
For example, at age 7, Okorafor created “Coolerbot.”
“It was basically a robotic freezer,” he said.
His interest in science, with an engineering bent, only grew as he got older. In high school, Okorafor joined the Technology Students Association. Anything that had to do with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), he signed
up for, whether it was a class, competition or event.
He has taken courses about engineering design, three-dimensional modeling, circuitry and electronics. He enrolled in an independent study to learn how to create code. He also has taken advantage of the Project Lead the Way Program, a curriculum which gives students a chance to identify and solve problems in the STEM areas.
“I still watch the Discovery Channel and make things — just slightly more elevated things,” Okorafor said.
Recently, he invented a pair of ultrasonic glasses that allows people with impaired vision to navigate their surroundings.
“Once you get closer to an object, the frequency gets higher,” Okorafor said. “I’m actually looking to get a patent.”
When he’s not busy with science, Okorafor participates in sports, mainly track and football. He is also a member of the National Honors Society – and regularly volunteers on the group’s projects in his free time.
Okorafor participated in the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce Youth in Philanthropy program. “You do team-based volunteer projects throughout the year, about one a month,” he said. “That was a great experience.”
He said he especially enjoyed helping out at the East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry.
“Volunteering is really great,” Okorafor said. “You get to give back, and it’s also really fun. I definitely want to continue to volunteer.”
This year, Okorafor was named a 2015 Gates Millennium Scholar, a recognition established in 1999 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with the goal of developing future leaders.
The program removes the financial barriers to education for high-performing, low-income students.
Okorafor is the sixth Gates Millennium Scholar from Lamar Consolidated Independent School District — and the first from George Ranch High School.
He is one of 1,000 high schools students nationwide to have the entire cost of his education paid for through the program.
“I’m really fortunate to get it,” he said. “It’s a really, really selective thing. When I found out I got it, I was just elated. It was a really happy moment for me, my school and my family.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree, Okorafor and other Gates Scholars may request funding to attend a graduate program in one of the following disciplines: computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.
The program is administered through the United Negro College Fund, which partners with the American Indian Graduate Center Scholars, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund to select and provide services.
While engineering is his passion, Okorafor asked his Spanish teacher Maria Kennett to nominate him for the Gates Scholarship. In addition to his skills in the science and math classrooms, he completed the Advanced Placement Spanish V program.
“He’s hardworking,” Kennett said. “He is dedicated, focused and eager to learn. He looks for a challenge — instead of running away from them.”
She said Okorafor is also humble. “A lot of kids who have so much going for them start thinking they are better than everyone,” she said. “You never find that in Ejeh. He’s so down to earth. He’s a kind person.”
Kennett said she was thrilled to hear Okorafor was a Gates Scholar. “I was screaming and yelling,” she said. “I wanted to brag about him to everyone. He’s so well-deserving — it couldn’t have happened to a better person.”
She also believes that her student is destined for big things.
“He’s going to do big, wonderful things — and do it right,” she said. “He’ll be an example to all — not only because of his success but because of who he is, because of his values and ethics.”
Okorafor plans to attend the University of Texas in Austin majoring in electrical engineering.
He said his long-range goal is to start his own company — based on his inventions. The focus will be to design and develop technologies that can help solve the world’s challenges and problems.
“It’s important to do something that benefits the greater community,” Okorafor said. “Whatever I do, hopefully it’s of use. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll set it one day. In the mean time, I’ll do many other projects — and keep my hands busy.”
And he has no doubts he will one day achieve his goal of inventing something big — something that benefits the world.