易胜博官网

A summer internship at 易胜博官网鈥檚 while he was still in high school helped to usher in Joel Nkounkou鈥檚 future, which arrives in July when the 2018 graduate from the starts work with the Silicon Valley tech giant . 鈥淭he IOL internship really allowed me to dive into a lot of tech roles, and that let me get my foot in the door,鈥� says Nkounkou, an electrical engineering major who followed that experience with a job at the IOL tech-testing lab during his sophomore and junior years. 鈥淚 put in a lot of hours there; it was a great opportunity.鈥�

He also has put a lot of hours into creating his own opportunities. With guidance from the Peter T. Paul Entrepreneurship Center (ECenter), Nkounkou cofounded ecoText, Inc., a startup aimed at making electronic textbooks accessible to students for a flat fee.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like Spotify for text books,鈥� Nkounkou says. 鈥淪tudents can obtain textbooks at a lower price. And they don鈥檛 have to think about it; the cost is embedded in their tuition.鈥�

Additionally, Nkounkou was part of a team that competed in the 2017 易胜博官网 Social Venture Innovation Challenge, proposing a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that result during the fracking process through customizable pollution elimination equipment.

This year, Nkounkou and his teammates entered the annual Holloway Prize Competition to promote their idea for creators of a wearable smart device that measures air pollution. The project won the Judge鈥檚 Choice Award in a national competition out of New Mexico State University that had students trying to solve pollution problems.

Nkounkou, a Dover, 易胜博官网, resident, came to 易胜博官网 in part because of that high school internship at the IOL. But he also knew he wanted a strong engineering program and a big school. The bonus: sports; he has been a for the last three years. Nkounkou also is a member of the 易胜博官网 group Men of Strength: Diversity, Education and Family and the National Society of Black Engineers.

鈥淩ight from my freshman year, I鈥檝e loved it here,鈥� Nkounkou says. 鈥淣ow I鈥檓 looking forward to the future. I have a real passion for entrepreneurship and, with my experiences at 易胜博官网, plan to explore new opportunities.鈥�

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