The Computing and Mathematics Department is grateful to be able to offer scholarships to deserving Computer Information Technology, Computer Science, and Mathematics students. Scholars receive a $3,000 scholarship from the Stanley White (SW) Foundation. In addition, they are paired with a specific professor to complete a major research project.
2022-2023 STANLEY WHITE SCHOLARS
Shaofan "Sharon" Li
Sharon Li is a senior from Luoyang Henan, China. She is double-majoring in Mathematics and Entrepreneurship. Her Stanley White research project with Dr. Jayne Ann Harder will examine the effects of summer Mathematic boot camps on Mathematic placement outcomes. When asked about her plans for the future, Sharon said, " In these three years of study and life at ORU, I gradually know God and chose to follow God indeed. I grew in love with ORU's Christian environment and saw God's work here. I plan to graduate from ORU in May 2023 and find an internship related to market data analysis. During last year's study, I became interested in data science, and I hope the SW research experience in the 2022-2023 academic year can help me determine my direction. After the internship, I want to study in Theology."
Jingee Mok
Jingee Mok is from Osaka, Japan, and is currently finishing his final year of undergraduate studies as a Mathematics major with a Data Science concentration. Working closely with Dr. Enrique Valderrama Araya, his Stanley White Scholar research focuses on studying the academic trajectories of students at Oral Roberts University. During his time at ORU, his favorite memory is attending the ORU men's basketball games. After graduation, hopes to pursue a career in the Data Science industry.
Rita Njoroge
Rita Njoroge is a sophomore Computer Science major from Nairobi, Kenya. Her proposed research area with Dr. Stephen Wheat will be graph analytics on High Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructure such as ORU's Titan supercomputers. During the summer of 2022 while she was in Greece on an ORU mission trip, Rita had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Andreas Persidis, co-founder and CEO of Biovista, and Dr. Vassilis Virvilis, their Head of Information Technologies. Rita said of her meeting, “They shared with me a how Biovista’s graph-based database was designed, which is similar to the topic of my research with Dr. Wheat in the Fall, as well as some of the problems they have encountered with its design. This gave me a bit of insight into some of the problems I may encounter in the Fall and gave me a head start to produce algorithmic solutions to help the project. After eventually pursuing a Masters of Computer Science with a concentration in Artificial Intellengence, Rita intends to start her own tech company to help support a new generation of innovation and imagination extensively from Africa.
Michael Vandusen
Michael Vandusen, a Tulsa, Oklahoma native, is a graduate student in the Master in Computer Science - Data Science program. As someone who greatly enjoys doing research with various faculty members, Vandusen’s current Stanley White research with Dr. Woerner focuses on pattern recognition in long strings. Some of his favorite memories at ORU include serving with the Missions and Outreach office, where he served as a Team Leader for a missions team to Uganda last summer. He plans on following the voice of God wherever He leads and is looking to go into teaching in the near future.
PREVIOUS STANLEY WHITE SCHOLARS AND THEIR RESEARCH:
2021-2022:
Gladys Chen - "Neuropathy Treatment Efficacy for Peripheral Neuropathy Conditions"