Ayomide Laguda is an electrical engineering undergraduate student. He was born in Maryland, but grew up in Nigeria, the birthplace of his parents.

The family lived in a small, quiet neighborhood in an even smaller house. Because none of his friends lived nearby, Ayomide was very close to his brother. Every non-school day, they would play video games all day long.

As Ayomide played games on his PlayStation, he wondered how it would feel to play the same games on his laptop. He considered his TV screen too big and his phone screen too small, but his laptop screen the ideal size.

Ayomide became more engrossed in the internal makeup of his laptop as he looked at different computer requirements for several games. The installed random-access memory, or RAM, on his computer was 16 gigabytes, which meant it was perfect for running games. These technical aspects of his computer’s hardware sparked Ayomide’s interest in coding.

He started building, designing, and developing web pages in his spare time. The websites he created discussed why he believes video games are vital to society: They inspire future generations to be more creative. Ayomide is proficient at using many web design applications and programming languages, including HTML and Cascading Style Sheet, or CSS. He is also learning how to use JavaScript, SQL and Python. Ayomide aims to change the thinking of young people and engage them using the benefits of information and communications technologies, or ICT, for a good cause.

Currently, he is involved in Arizona State University student organizations to connect with more people and seek advice such as the Engineering Futures program, Linux Users Group and the Software Developers Association, or SoDA. While SoDa is geared toward computer science majors, Ayomide has retained a strong interest in computer programming during his electrical engineering studies. SoDa presents its members with internship opportunities, college advice and career options.

Ayomide’s advice for students:

“It’s never too early to learn stuff that you may be doing in your senior year because everything is connected anyway. Also, the BSE is not an easy degree to attain. It is challenging because it teaches us how to be problem solvers. It is instilling us with the skills we may need when we have to find solutions to problems. Don’t try to memorize the answer, learn the methods used to attain it.”

Email: [email protected]