OCW Stories

• Tooba Siddiqui
• Student
• Pakistan

Tooba Siddiqui, a student at IQRA University in Islamabad, Pakistan, is determined to pursue her education in spite of political unrest. She gives credit to OCW for allowing her to overcome many obstacles. Read more.

• Jamie Tucker–Foltz
• Student
• United States

On most counts, Jamie Tucker–Foltz is your average teenager. Hailing from Colorado, he’s into juggling (keeps five clubs in the air, and shooting for six), plays volleyball, likes to draw and paint, and enjoys building computer games using the MIT Media Lab-created Scratch programming tool. Academically, however, he’s facing a challenge that far fewer teenagers can claim to have achieved: “I’m a sophomore at Boulder High School, and basically, I’ve run out of classes.” Read more.

• Tuhin Bagi
• Student
• India

The city of Nasik has long been known as the wine capital of India for its plentiful supply of grapes, but more recently it has become a high-tech and engineering hub—one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Born and raised there, fifteen-year-old Tuhin Bagi shares his native city's fascination with science and technology, and maintains an equally breathless pace. Read more.

• Demetra Tzevelekos
• Educator
• Greece

“Bringing MIT into our University Prep classes has been incredible for my students, opening up their minds to the many possibilities, making them want to excel even more.” Demetra Tzevelekos describes her students’ experiences with OCW as very positive. Read more.

• Amy Santee
• Educator
• United States

Homeschooling her daughters means that Amy Santee knows how to think outside the box. She takes them on field trips and finds a wide variety of outside activities for them like ballet and choir. Her freedom to step outside the classroom keeps the lessons fresh and exciting. "I realize that not all learning is fun," says Santee. "But I strive to make as much as possible enjoyable and educational at the same time." Read more.

• Evelyn Laurito
• Educator
• Philippines

“The online courses I am augmenting my teaching with are very helpful. More content for less work helps me concentrate more on the teaching.” For the past several years, Evelyn Laurito has been using OCW materials in her classes. Read more.

• Trent Parker
• Self Learner
• United States

Trent Parker, a former chemistry PhD candidate and himself a creator of open educational resources wanted to get into software engineering, so he built a self-directed learning program on OCW courses, and with powerful new knowledge and skills soon landed a great job at Google. Read more.

• Anita Moreno
• Self Learner
• United States

Back in 2008, Anita Moreno was majoring in mechanical engineering at San Francisco State University (SFSU). In her junior year, when Moreno had a 3.9 Grade Point Average and was contemplating a career in prosthetic design and robotics, she had a brain aneurysm. Fortunately, brain surgery treated her condition, so she returned to classes only 90 days after the operation. Read more.

• Valja Collingwood
• Self Learner
• United States

“I used OCW to boost my knowledge of scientific concepts that I encounter daily at my job.” With these words, Valja Collingwood describes how using MIT’s OCW materials was helpful for his career. Read more.