Marcus Aqui’s interest in computers began at a young age when he started exploring how audio and visual data were written onto game cartridges. Since then, his passion for computer science has only grown. In 2021, Marcus received his B.S. in computer science with honors from Georgia State and began pursuing a master’s degree as part of GSU’s 4+1 program. The 4+1 program allows students to begin working toward a graduate degree while still in their bachelor’s program, leaving only one year of graduate coursework after they complete their undergraduate degree.
Marcus is the recipient of a $10,000 scholarship from a collaborative program between Intel and UNCF. In addition to a monetary award, scholarship winners receive exposure to potential Intel jobs, opportunities to network with fellow Intel scholars, insight into Intel research opportunities, and access to Intel mentors. Scholarship applicants were required to be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program and have at least a 3.0 GPA.
Marcus says, “One thing I love about this field is that with the right tools and some tinkering, you can manifest just about any idea into reality.” After graduating, he plans to pursue a career in cybersecurity while working on fun projects in his free time.
Story by Ashlie Swanson