Marie Ouedraogo
Associate in Applied Science - Prototype Design, 2019
Career Certificate - Computer Aided Drafting, 2018
Before attending MCC, Marie worked as a Math Tutor and Student Technology Mentor in New York City. Marie started expressing her entrepreneurial spirit way back in her home country, Burkina Faso, with the creation and sale of various jewelry and personal care products for women.
To develop her entrepreneurial spirit, Marie enrolled in the Prototype Design degree program at Metropolitan Community College. The program would allow her to later create physical models using computer-aided machines and power tools for her work and personal projects.
During her time at MCC, Marie served as the Student Ex-officio of Metropolitan Community College from 2018 to 2019. She represented the school at events in the community, attended students' activities, and helped students find the resources they needed. Moreover, as Student Ex-officio, Marie met with MCC’s Board of Governors to report on the student life by attending students' activities during which she interacted with the students, learned about their concerns, and what they liked about the school.
Attending the Board of Governors’ meetings taught her that the board members truly care about the students and wanted to learn as much as possible from them to be able to help the students. Those great experiences motivated Marie to serve as the Secretary of Integration for the Association of Burkina in Nebraska, from 2020 to 2022. Her Burkinabé community relied on her as the secretary to coordinate food deliveries and bereavement care and to share resources that helped them integrate. Marie personally called people that needed encouragement, guidance, or words of congratulations.
Marie is currently a senior at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering. She is still involved in the community where she is empowering kids to get interested in mathematics, science, and technology. She makes math, science, and technology concepts easier for children to understand. She also develops projects that help develop their motor, and social skills and later help them in their studies.
In August 2021, Marie was granted a scholarship from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Power and Energy Society (IEEE PES), an honor given to distinguished engineering students for their leadership and commitment to developing new green technologies, building smart grids, and efficiently generating and utilizing power.
In her free time, Marie enjoys crafting, reading, watching movies, visiting museums, and spending time with her friends and family.