Senior Spotlight: Chidera Okoroama Creates Resilience and Community Out of Challenges
“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it,” Toni Morrison, Nobel laureate for literature, famously said. For Chidera Okoroama, business information management (BIM) senior at UC Irvine Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS), she created the student club she wanted to be a member of. And she’s writing her own story of success that centers around resilience and community.
“My academic journey has been defined by a passion for technical innovation and a commitment to community advocacy,” said Okoroama. “My time at UC Irvine ICS taught me resilience; despite significant personal and physical challenges, I turned my experiences into a mission to ensure no student feels unseen in tech.”
As founder and former president of Black in Tech (BiT), Okoroama built a thriving organization to empower Black students interested in technology by creating community. “I believe that being a ‘computer scientist’ is about more than just syntax and algorithms. It is about building systems, both digital and social, that empower people. As I prepare to graduate with the Class of 2026, I look back at my time in ICS as a period of profound transformation, moving from a student struggling in silence to a leader advocating for collective success.”
As I prepare to graduate with the Class of 2026, I look back at my time in ICS as a period of profound transformation, moving from a student struggling in silence to a leader advocating for collective success.
Here, Okoroama shares some of her ICS experiences.
What sparked your interest in business information management?
My interest in business has always been there. I have family members who run their own businesses, so that path felt natural to me. But what made BIM click was discovering SQL in high school and realizing I actually enjoyed coding and working with data structures. So I started wondering if there was a way to blend those two interests together.”
How would you describe your experience at ICS?
Honestly, the main reason I’m still in this major is because of Shannon Alfaro, computer science senior continuing lecturer. My freshman year was rough. I struggled a lot with the quarter system and couldn’t keep up.
I was taking Econ 20A, ICS 31, and everything else all at once, and it felt overwhelming. But having her as a mentor and going to her office hours made a huge difference. I’d see other students there struggling too, and that was actually more reassuring than just hearing her say it wasn’t just me. Seeing it firsthand with other people made me realize I wasn’t alone in this.
That sense of community with people going through the same thing really helped. We stayed in touch after that, and she became this constant advocate for me. She’s the one who pushed me to apply to Grace Hopper, and when I didn’t get in initially, she reached out to Vinh Luong, director of ICS Outreach, Access and Inclusion (OAI), and got me a spot. She’s also the reason I started the Black in Tech club. Honestly, everything I’ve accomplished traces back to her. She’s always been someone who believed in me and pushed me forward.
She has this attitude where she’s like, “You can do this, and if it doesn’t work out, so what? You’re going to get no’s, and that’s just part of it.” That perspective has shaped my whole experience here in a really positive way.
What’s interesting is that other Black students feel the same way about her. Even though she’s a white woman, it doesn’t come across as performative. It genuinely feels like she cares. She puts in real effort for her Black students because she understands that we’re often invisible, overlooked, easily forgotten in these spaces.
Can you share your experience about founding Black in Tech (BiT)?
I was feeling pretty stuck at the time, just going through the motions with work and internships, getting rejected, with nothing concrete to show for it. I was vulnerable enough to lay all that out for her. Instead of dismissing it, she pointed out that there are tons of resources available, but a lot of Black students don’t know about them. And even when they do, imposter syndrome kicks in — this feeling that we don’t belong there. So she basically said, ‘Why not start a club?’ Something like Black in Tech, or whatever we wanted to call it. Just get a few friends together and make it happen.
I started thinking about it seriously because she was right. The clubs I’d tried to join never felt like the right fit for me. So I actually went back to my dorm and started reaching out to the dean and other administrators, and we managed to set up a meeting that Friday. She was kind of shocked when I told her. Didn’t we just talk about this on Wednesday? But that’s how much her words matter to me. She has this incredible influence on my life. I moved on that idea immediately, and we ended up getting a lot of people to show up to that first meeting.
Having that turnout gave me the confidence to really push forward with starting the club. She connected me with people from her network and community, people I could reach out to, and she even introduced me to Roderic Crooks, associate professor of informatics, saying it would be important to have Black faculty involved. Through Black in Tech, I’ve actually built a lot of meaningful connections. A lot of my friends now are professionals I’ve met through the community.
It’s become this cool thing where I can mention friends like Pierce Taylor at Google or Ethan Reece at Netflix, and then invite them to events to show them how vibrant the community is. Usually after they come, I’ll grab a coffee chat with them, and it naturally turns into a real friendship. People have been really receptive to it, so overall my experience has been really positive. We’ve been running this for about a year, and now I’ve transitioned into more of a mentor role on the board.
Big thanks to Dean Marios [Papaefthymiou] for the support too. I’m also grateful for Lorraine Villegas, administrative coordinator at OAI, and Matthew Costa, undergraduate counselor at ICS Student Affairs. They’re solid people on the ICS staff who really made a difference.
I believe that being a ‘computer scientist’ is about more than just syntax and algorithms. It is about building systems, both digital and social, that empower people.
What has been most memorable about your time at ICS?
When I think back on what stuck with me most, there was this recruiting event where companies came to campus. I actually applied after talking to someone there, but didn’t get the job initially. So I reached out asking for feedback, and she gave me incredibly detailed notes that I still reference before every interview now: things like knowing the company’s mission, researching the recruiters I’ll be talking to. That first professional interview taught me what to focus on going forward. Even though I didn’t get that particular position, it became a benchmark for how to prepare for future opportunities. Those career development events have been really valuable for my growth.
Do you have plans after graduating in June?
After graduation, I’m heading into the workforce as a project manager. I’ve got some interviews lined up and even a few offers, so I’m just weighing where I want to land.
Do you have any advice for current or future ICS Anteaters?
Looking back, I wish I’d told myself earlier to just breathe through the tough moments. When you’re struggling, it feels like everything’s falling apart and you won’t make it, but those negative thoughts aren’t the whole picture. Things do work out, even when it doesn’t feel that way in the moment.
The real turning point for me was reaching out for help instead of isolating myself. I know a lot of people feel like professors don’t care, but that hasn’t been my experience. They actually do. Being vulnerable and honest about my struggles made all the difference. If I hadn’t put myself out there and told someone I was drowning, I genuinely don’t think I’d be where I am now.
– Tonya Becerra