By: Ariyana Griffin, Morgan Class of 2024
Only two years into his Morgan State University education, Godsheritage Adeoye has a long list of laudable experiences and opportunities. From working with major companies such as Apple as a software engineer to traveling the world to share his knowledge at conferences, this junior Computer Science major is making strides and opening doors for others.
Adeoye, originally from Kwara, Nigeria, began to have an intense curiosity about computers in middle school there. He remembers taking apart a computer and putting it back together after discussing with his classmates what a RAM stick looked like.
“People are saying a RAM stick looks like a circle. People are saying it’s like a rectangle. But I said it was like a card, a rectangular card with inscriptions on it, and everybody was arguing,” he said. Determined, he went home, dismantled his dad’s computer and brought a physical RAM stick to the classroom the next day, as proof.
He continued studying computers, programming and coding through his secondary education, and that determination and curiosity eventually led him to Morgan. Researching universities to attend, he sought a school with both a strong Nigerian community — since he would be there without his family members or current friends — and a proficient computer science program.
“During the whole research process, Morgan just started checking out,” Adeoye recalls.
I just want to leave this kind of legacy behind where they’d be able to say Godsheritage not only just did good for himself but…also to open doors for other people.
– Godsheritage Adeoye
Class of 2026
A World of Opportunity
“I was applying for internships before college,” he says. “I applied to over 300 internship positions in total my freshman year and got offers from Google, Apple, Bank of America and Transamerica.”
Adeoye hit the ground running at the National Treasure. He connected with his teaching assistant, who happened to be Nigerian and who shared his cultural upbringing and enthusiasm for computer science. She introduced him to the Zillow Global Hackathon, and Adeoye became the youngest member of his team, helping Morgan compete against other HBCUs. The starting 65-plus teams dwindled to six final teams and then finally one, as Adeoye worked as fast as he could on deliverables for the competition and had many sleepless nights. Morgan’s team won first place. Adeoye was included in an article about the victory published in The Baltimore Times and won money for Morgan’s Computer Science Department and himself.
“That was a surreal moment for me, mind you. I was barely four weeks into school. And I had won a global hackathon,” he says.
A world of opportunities then opened for Adeoye: he secured an internship with Apple as a software engineer on the company’s Vision Pro team, where he was able to study the future of spatial computing; his team won first place at the second annual Codelinc hackathon; his Cloud Bears team placed third in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) competition; he attended the three-day Bloomberg HBCU Academy of #Excellence; and more.
His talents and hard work have enabled him to travel all over the United States: he was selected to attend the Black Sports Business Symposium #blacksportsbiz in Atlanta, the 2023 Morgan Stanley Early Insights program in New York and the seventh annual Battle of the Brains in Austin, Texas, and he was a keynote speaker for the virtual UrxConference in May 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he spoke about “The Candidate Experience.” Adeoye was accepted into the Thurgood Marshall College Fund program, which has afforded him opportunities to meet other HBCU students, travel to conferences and gain internship experience.
Sharing the Wealth
The junior is looking forward to continuing to grow his portfolio and skills. He took courses through Google’s Tech Exchange Program in spring 2024, joining software engineering classes led by Google employees. The program’s courses were virtual, however, he traveled to California to tour Google’s headquarters.
“Imagine software engineers (at) one of the biggest companies in the world teaching you how software engineering is done for a semester,” Adeoye says, enthralled by the experience.
He is excited about giving back to incoming Computer Science students at Morgan by speaking at panel discussions on campus, being a mentor and being active with campus organizations. He’s serving as Mr. WICS now for the Women In Computer Science club and is a leader or general member of the Google Developers Student Clubs, Black Venture Capital Consortium, Society for the Advancement of Computer Science and the African Student Organization. He is also leading a team of 20 students planning Morgan’s hackathon this year, Morgan Hacks, which draws participants from around the country to create and innovate new projects and launch them to the tech ecosystem
“I just want to leave this kind of legacy behind where they’d be able to say Godsheritage not only just did good for himself but…also to open doors for other people.”
Adeoye appreciates the opportunities and support Morgan has provided him, and the bonds he has been able to create. He notes his opportunities that have come from companies directly affiliated with Morgan or that have invested in programs at HBCUs.
Adeoye looks forward to utilizing all the experience, knowledge and skills he will gain at Morgan and around the world. After graduating from the University, he plans to work as a software engineer “at a company leading innovation and breaking technological barriers.”
“We lack opportunities to help us shine,” Adeoye says of his homeland. “So, I will try to share these opportunities I’ve received from Morgan with other people, starting with my Nigerian community.”
