College Student Gains Invaluable Experience as Researcher

Six students from Georgia State University’s Perimeter College have been named semifinalists for the 2025 Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The Jack Kent Cooke award is a competitive scholarship for the nation’s top two-year college students. It provides recipients with up to $55,000 per year, placing the scholarship among the largest private awards in the country for community college transfer students. The semifinalists, all Perimeter Honors College students working toward their associate degrees, are among 467 individuals selected from more than 1,600 applicants attending 212 community colleges in 43 states, plus Washington, D.C., and the Northern Mariana Islands. The following is a profile of one of Perimeter’s semifinalists.

CLARKSTON, Ga. — As a standout student at Georgia State University, Paloma Hodje has made the most of her pivot from high school athletic scholar to undergraduate college researcher.

In 2023, at age 17, Paloma moved to the United States from the French banlieues, hoping to attend college by earning a volleyball scholarship. That didn’t pan out, so her aunt, with whom she lived, suggested giving Georgia State’s Perimeter College a try.

“That was my dream,” Paloma said of wanting to play volleyball and attend college in America. “But life happened, and you have to be realistic.”

Although enrolling at Perimeter was not Paloma’s initial plan, she is pleased with how things have turned out.

“I didn’t realize how many opportunities that I would have at Perimeter,” the mathematics and engineering pathway student said.

At Perimeter, Paloma has immersed herself in research, participating in multiple projects—even those at Georgia State’s Atlanta Campus. She’s most proud about being part of a research team, led by Dr. Yi Jiang in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, that is developing a machine learning model to better understand how aging affects the shape and structure of eye cells in the context of eye diseases. Her first research experience at Perimeter came through the popular Peach State Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation, or LSAMP program. To support polio eradication efforts, Hodje and LSAMP students are working on a vaccine carrier prototype.

With all this research experience, Paloma is hopeful about being a strong applicant for the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.

“Taking care of school, work and activities is a constant challenge,” she said.

“Without the help of scholarships, continuing my college education would be nearly impossible.”

“I can say that I’ve been greatly prepared, and I am grateful for all the faculty members who have helped this far.”

Part of Paloma’s preparation also comes from her success in leading a team of students to participate in Perimeter’s Innovation Challenge—in which they won third place for a pitch to develop an app concept that supports chronic disease patients.

Then there’s her involvement in WISE, which stands for Women in STEM Experiences. Paloma, WISE’s co-president, is now organizing an engineering design competition at Perimeter in collaboration with MathWorks, a company that specializes in mathematical computing software. She is also dedicated to community service, volunteering with the Perimeter College Outreach Team to support STEM activities in local high schools and serving as Senator of Student Services for both the Alpharetta and Clarkston Campus Student Government Associations.

A multiple scholarship winner while at Perimeter, Paloma is receiving recognition for her research and campus activities. Georgia State’s Center for the Advancement of Students and Alumni (CASA) named Paloma a Math Alliance Scholar, which paid for her participation in the Field of Dreams Conference sponsored by the Math Alliance.

Paloma has presented her projects at various research events, including the Georgia Scientific Computing Symposium at Georgia Tech, the Southern Regional Honors Council, and the American Mathematical Society’s Southeastern Sectional Meeting at Clemson University. Her travel to Clemson was funded by the CASA Undergraduate Travel Award. She was recently honored with Perimeter's STAR Award in Mathematics, the Sophomore STEM Scholar of Excellence in Mathematics, and the competitive Scholarship America Dream Award.

For the summer, Paloma has been accepted into the Breakthrough Tech AI Fellowship, the MIT Summer Research Program, and Stanford SURF 2025. As part of her SURF fellowship, she will be conducting research in the Brain in Silicon Lab at Stanford University.

Inspired by her family’s lived experiences, Paloma’s career goal is to work as a biomedical engineer to develop patient-centered technologies for marginalized communities and low-resource settings. She is also interested in neural engineering and aspires to make a positive impact in the world through translational research and entrepreneurship.

“My mom always encouraged us to do something that is purposeful and that would benefit the community,” she said. “She really pushes us to think big despite hardships, and that strength comes from our culture in Cameroon. I am here today because she never stops praying for me.”

Following her graduation from Perimeter College in May, Paloma hopes to transfer to one of her top dream schools, which includes Georgia Tech, Stanford, Columbia, Cornell and Northwestern.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation will announce its 2025 scholarship recipient in May.

Story by Kysa Anderson Daniels

Photo by Bill Roa