May 10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
CONTACT:
Emma Stokely
Public + Media Relations Manager
estokely@mccneb.edu
mccneb.edu
   
OMAHA, Neb. (May 10, 2023) — The Metropolitan Community College Foundation announces Marie Ouedraogo as the recipient of the MCC 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award, an annual recognition given to a graduate whose achievement, service and commitment to MCC and the community is exemplary.
 
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 allowed her to create physical models using computer-aided machines and power tools for her work and personal projects.
 
During her time at the College, Marie served as the Student Ex-officio of the MCC Board of Governors 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 the MCC Board of Governors to report on student and voiced their concerns and what they liked about the College. 
 
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 assimilate. Marie personally called people that needed encouragement, guidance or congratulatory words.
 
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 creates projects that help develop the children’s motor skills, social skills and their studies. 
 
In August 2021, Marie was granted a scholarship from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Power and Energy Society, 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.
 
For more information about the Distinguished Alumni Award, visit mccneb.edu/DistinguishedAlumni.
   
Metropolitan Community College, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, is a comprehensive, public community college that offers affordable, quality education to all residents of Dodge, Douglas, Sarpy and Washington counties. Founded in 1974, MCC has the largest enrollment out of six community colleges in Nebraska and is the second largest postsecondary institution in the state. MCC serves more than 40,000 unique credit and noncredit students.