OCW Stories

• 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.

• Mat Peterson
• Student
• United States

In his junior year at Klein Oak High School in Spring, Texas, Mat Peterson — now an MIT freshman — was struggling with his physics course. A friend of his recommended that he look at MIT OpenCourseWare, where Peterson found the help he needed. Read more.

• Robert Talbert
• Educator
• United States

When Robert Talbert, associate professor of mathematics and computing science at Franklin College, was looking for inspiration and resources for his CMP 150 Computer Tools for Problem Solving course, he turned to MIT OpenCourseWare's 6.00 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming course, taught by Professors Eric Grimson and John Guttag. 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.

• Richard Hall
• Educator
• Australia

Richard Hall received a Ph.D. in computer science from LaTrobe University in Melbourne, Australia, in 2002. Shortly thereafter, he found himself playing a different role in LaTrobe's laboratories and lecture halls: teaching courses in introductory information systems, beginning microprocessors, and advanced computer-aided software engineering. Read more.

• Juan Brizuela
• Self Learner
• Mexico

A resident of Tijuana, Mexico, Juan Brizuela thanks OCW for enabling him to pursue a career in information technology. Read more.

• Bo Zhao
• Self Learner
• China

Bo Zhao, a structural engineer living in Beijing, discovered OCW in 2010 while surfing the Internet to find learning materials for math, physics and engineering. He had graduated in 2006, and wanted to refresh concepts he had learned in college. Read more.

• Akwir Alain
• Self Learner
• Democratic Republic of the Congo

Akwir Alain received his Bachelor’s in electrical engineering at the Université Libre des Pays des Grands Lacs (ULPGL) in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Besides facing the usual academic challenges of any engineering student, Alain was living in a war-torn country with few resources and few professors. Wondering if his education was on par with that of other engineering students around the world, Alain decided to do some research, and found OCW through Google. Read more.