An Engineer and Something More: Combining Football and Engineering Michael Ojemudia is a recent graduate of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Iowa. During his time at Iowa, Ojemudia played cornerback for the Hawkeye football team and was recently drafted by the Denver Broncos. At Iowa, Ojemudia successfully balanced the heavy demands of being a student athlete with his academics. When asked about the workload, he said that it took a lot of time management and the prioritization of schoolwork and athletics over social life. Ojemudia’s dedication to his academics and his passion for football were constants during his time at Iowa. Originally from Michigan, Ojemudia came from a family of immigrants from Nigeria. As he was growing up, he watched his father work as an engineer for Ford Motor Company. This piqued his interest in engineering and led him to pursue a career in the field. Also during this time, Ojemudia fell in love with football. He played throughout high school and accepted a football scholarship to the University of Iowa, where he excelled on the field and in the classroom. It was not always easy, though. Ojemudia said that there were moments when he considered switching to an easier major or even transferring but he had inspiring and dedicated professors who helped him stay motivated and engaged in his coursework. He would like to give a huge thank you to faculty members Hongtao Ding, Justin Garvin, and Ruben Beltran Del Rio for continuing to push and inspire him and not allowing him to give up on his dreams. When asked if he had any advice for current undergraduate engineering students, he said that they should get to know their professors and go to office hours. He added, though, that the key is to not procrastinate on their work. In the future, Michael Ojemudia would like to continue to play football for as long as he can. After his football career, he hopes to combine engineering with football, working on technology to improve players’ practices as well as their safety on the field. The Department of Mechanical Engineering would like to congratulate Michael Ojemudia on his graduation. We look forward to seeing his bright future!
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