Award winning student wants to see more diversity in engineering

Software Engineering and Management student Abraham Omorogbe is on a winning streak.

The fourth year student recently added Hydro One Scholarship to an impressive roster of awards and scholarships.

The scholarship, The William Peyton Hubbard Memorial Award, recognizes black student leaders for their dedication to studies related to the power industry with a paid student work placement and monetary award.

Last semester, Omorogbe won the Hon. Michaelle Jean Scholarship from the Black Business and Professional Association and received the Ezra Nesbeth Scholarship through the Jamaican Canadian Association – a result of his high academic standing, leadership and entrepreneurial drive.

In addition to completing his studies full-time, Omorogbe runs two start-ups: Canvas Group Canada, a design company that specializes in marketing, branding and website design, and Coursity.me, an app that converts a student course calendar to a digital calendar, which can be used on any device. His company has a portfolio of more than 20 clients ranging from multinational to local, and his app has over 2,000 regular users.

Omorogbe is active on campus and currently serves co-president of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) McMaster Chapter, which aims to empower minorities and increase their professional opportunities.

“It’s so important for there to be more diversity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education and careers,” said Omorogbe, who was born in Nigeria and lived in Ireland prior to arriving in Canada at age 13. “Different points of view that come from different cultures helps brainstorming,” he said. “If the company you work for is diverse, you have broader scope of ideas for who you are delivering to and the kind of products you create and, in management, diversity increases companies’ profitability, how well they do, and how employees feel about their jobs.”

After completing his education he hopes to land a job at a top-tier tech firm and intends to build a consulting company with his brothers.

“I have a lot of family connections to McMaster,” said the Markham, ON resident, on why he chose McMaster.

“I had an interest in finance and management and I’ve always wanted to start my own business, but I was also really skilled in STEM. The Engineering and Management program at McMaster was the best combination I could find that would help me reach my goals.”