THE DR. WEI HU ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIP

Elaine Tooley ’05

When Michael Cha, John Khalaf, and Jacob Annis graduated in 2018, they knew their work at Houghton was not done. Inspired by their own college experience and determined to making it possible for others, the three combined to create the Dr. Wei Hu Alumni Scholarship—an endowed student scholarship that will benefit generations of students like them.

“Houghton was so generous to us,” remembers Khalaf. “We want other students to have the same experience. We created the scholarship for three reasons: to encourage students to explore the field of data science; to honor a professor who is invested in his students and their success; and to give back to the place that was so generous to us.”

All scholarship recipients themselves, the three transferred to Houghton specifically to pursue data science. Khalaf traveled from Cairo, Egypt; Annis came from nearby Chautauqua County, New York; and Cha from South Korea via Canada and Maryland, giving up a full-ride scholarship at his previous university.

At Houghton, they learned from Dr. Wei Hu, professor of mathematics and computer science, and Ryan Yates, assistant professor of computer science and data science, who worked beside them regularly and inspired them to excellence repeatedly.

“Both of them had a great influence on me,” shared Cha. “They were a wonderful part of my educational experience.”

“I remember the way Dr. Hu treated us,” recalled Khalaf. “He focused on each one of us individually.”

Outside the classroom, Cha—“the father of the group,” his friends tease—sought to form a new student group connected to MANRRS, a national organization that promotes academic and professional advancement by empowering minorities in agriculture, natural resources, and related sciences.

At the MANRRS annual conference, among a group of agriculturalists, the data science students stood out. While there, the three secured internships with John Deere and Land O’Lakes, companies that rely on data to increase food production, analyze crop rotation, and hopefully one day, eradicate hunger and food insecurity. They learned that making meaning out of numbers could solve significant challenges.

Following their internships, all three were offered full-time jobs upon graduation. At Land O’Lakes, Khalaf and Annis are data scientists working on several short-term projects as part of a program designed to expose young leaders with great potential to all aspects of the organization.

“As liberal arts students, we have an advantage,” Khalaf commented. “We combine business and communication, data and problem solving. It’s what drew them to us.”

At John Deere, Cha focuses on data related to manufacturing. He will soon be joined by his friend and current president of Houghton’s MANNRS chapter, Erik Sorenson ’20.

From the beginning of their Houghton experience, they found support. Together, they wanted to return the favor and inspire others to do the same.

“We want other alumni to join us,” added Cha. “We hope that with the help of others, we can make this scholarship the highest honor a data science student could receive.”

“It’s a good way to honor Dr. Hu—by passionately supporting the most important thing in up-and-coming data science: the students,” stated Annis. “If we can help take some of the financial burden off students to help them focus on their future, that’s a huge win. I just hope we can help some students pursue their passion.”