We love to learn from our alumni and this Global Alumni Engagement blog features Penn State’s remarkable global alumni on a weekly basis. This week we have an interview of Peter Okosun ’10 for our weekly Global Alumni Spotlight column.

Peter Okosun was born in Lagos, Nigeria and came to Penn State for his two years master program in Computer Science. He graduated in 2010 and during his time at Penn State, he got the opportunity to intern at Progressive Insurance and received a full time job offer before graduating. In 2011, he pursued a career at Intel Corporation, Arizona where he worked as a software engineer for 5+ years before heading to the pacific northwest to join Microsoft in Redmond as a Software Developer Engineer (SDE II). Currently, he is working as a software engineering manager in Microsoft Azure organization.

What made Penn State stand out as the place you wanted to pursue your graduate degree?

Interesting enough, I stumbled upon Penn State University during my graduate study application, I intended to pursue my graduate studies at University of Pennsylvania and when it became apparent that I wasn’t going to be able to accomplish that aspiration, I came across Penn State university on the list of top ranked universities in the world. While the similarities in name caught my attention, further research into the institution got me convinced of the opportunities that laid ahead. I had grown up listening to my dad tell stories about his alma mater, Ohio State Universities, and the “Big Ten” Universities and their impact, the opportunity to pursue my graduate studies in an institution with similar pedigree as I had heard about was inspiring for me.

Tell us about a couple of Penn State moments that carry with you now.

The level of support and empathy I received while at Penn State, is an experience that left a lasting impact on me, I recall after a month on campus, I was looking emaciated as I tried finding my voice and navigating my way through the cultural shock of my environment change. It was during this time I ran into Maida who introduced me to the MultiCultural Academic Excellence Program (MAEP). I went on to work closely with her and this opportunity tremendously helped me in finding my voice and realizing that it was natural and normal to go through a cultural shock. I had the opportunity to connect with many other students and scholars that were part of the program outside my regular course work. I also had the opportunity of working in the international student department, planning and preparing to receive new international students and activities

What happens during the holidays for international students who have nowhere else to go? I recall beautiful experiences where Prof. Peter Idowu in the engineering department, will host a few of the international students during this time to ensure the Christmas/New Year holidays were still just as much fun for such students as myself.

One of my proudest moments at Penn State was working with my prof. Jeremy Blum and the opportunities to have made two publications as a student. I recall the opportunity he availed to me to present our research at the QShine 7th ICST global conference in Texas, I relish that experience till today.

I often reflect and share my story of how the international student department led back then by Donna Howard came to my aid during the summer of 2009 when I had to vacate the dorm due to my program not offering any courses during the summer months. It was a watershed moment of love and support by the Penn State international students staff, who assisted in my transition from on campus to an off campus apartment in a very remarkable short space of time, ensuring I always had a roof over my head.

Other than that, the best man at my wedding was my Penn State roommate whom I met during the summer of 2009, a fellow Penn State Alumni, he traveled to Nigeria to support me during this life changing moment and we’ve remained best buddies till date. My final roommate at the time of graduation is also now a colleague of mine here at Microsoft with a lot of other Penn State alumni making a difference.

Finally, I was inspired by my Penn State experiences and shared my stories with friends and colleagues and it was very satisfying to see others international students from Nigeria choosing Penn State who are now fellow Penn State Alumnus. I have also had the privilege of recruiting a few Penn State alumni who are making a difference in our industry.

How do you stay connected with our alumni? What’s one thing that Penn State alumni can do to support today’s students?

I made some lifelong friends whom I am still directly connected to and I receive the general alumni emails to help keep me updated on Penn State activities. One advice I have for alumni is to keep on continuing to share our stories to inspire current students.