Nader Adem - Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Semifinalist

CLARKSTON, Ga. — Nader Adem, who began studying at Georgia State University Perimeter College in Spring 2025 as a dual enrollment student, is pursuing the college’s computer science pathway. A student on Perimeter’s Clarkston Campus, he was born and raised in metro Atlanta.

Adem is a semifinalist for the 2026 Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. During his time at Perimeter, he earned President’s List honors for three consecutive semesters and completed a finance internship with the City of Doraville. He was recently honored during Perimeter's STEM Student Scholars Awards Program as a STEM Scholar in computer science.

Looking ahead, he has secured two competitive opportunities: an incoming Tech@Lilly internship with Eli Lilly at their headquarters in Indianapolis, IN, where he will work in data engineering and a remote software engineering internship with the SEO Tech Developer program. When asked what receiving the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship would mean to him, he replied, “It would mean that my family would be relieved of the financial burden and also I’d be a part of the Jack Kent Cooke alumni and able to network with them.”

What has been the best aspect of attending Perimeter College?
The best part about attending Perimeter has been the people. When people think of community college, they assume students aren’t focused, but being here completely changed my perspective. I’ve met some of the most hardworking and like-minded individuals who are serious about their goals, and I know they’re going to do great things.  

What’s next for you?
I will be attending the Georgia Institute of Technology, where I plan to study Computational Media (Computer Science and Design).

What are your career goals?
I’m still exploring, but I know I want to break into the tech industry, whether that’s software engineering, product management or something that bridges finance and technology. More than anything, I want to create a meaningful impact and use what I build to help others.

What motivates you to keep moving forward with your academic and career journey?
What motivates me the most is how far I’ve come. Not too long ago, I was in a completely different place academically and mentally. Seeing how much my life has changed in such a short amount of time pushes me to keep going. If I was able to come this far, I can only imagine how far I can go if I stay consistent. I want people to see my story and realize that change is possible, because I’m living proof of that.

Another big motivation for me is my parents. They were born and raised in Eritrea and Ethiopia and left the lives they had there to create better opportunities for me and my siblings. I owe a lot to them, and I want to make sure their sacrifices pay off.

What experiences shaped who you are today and where you want to go with your career?
My journey really started with who I was in high school. Academically, I wasn’t the strongest student, and at one point, I didn’t even know if college was for me. I went through a period where I lacked direction and wasn’t taking school seriously.

Eventually, I hit a turning point. I realized that if I didn’t make a change, nothing in my life would change. I made the decision to lock in. I switched to online school, took extra classes to improve my GPA and stayed disciplined every day.

That decision changed everything. I was able to significantly raise my GPA, earn my first internship with the City of Doraville, and I received a pathway offer to Georgia Tech. From there, I kept building momentum by taking summer classes while working and continuing to push myself.

This is also why I want to help other students. I know what it feels like to have a vision but be misguided, and I want to show others that with the right mindset and effort, it’s possible to turn things around.

How have you overcome challenges and experienced growth?
I’ve experienced a lot of growth by changing my mindset and staying consistent, even when it was difficult. There were times where I felt tired or questioned if everything I was doing was worth it, but I kept going. Showing up every day, even in small ways, helped me build discipline and confidence over time.

That’s where I developed grit, the ability to keep working toward my goals over a long period of time, even when I didn’t see immediate results. Through that process, I learned that real growth comes from pushing through discomfort.

I also realized that growth requires sacrifice. There are always sacrifices that have to be made. That’s just part of life. You can’t get to the next level without sacrificing certain things. I had to let go of old habits and distractions to build better ones. Nothing changes if nothing changes, and once I accepted that, I started to see real progress.

Another big part of my transformation was changing my environment. If your surroundings don’t have the same goals as you, it becomes very difficult to grow. Surrounding myself with more like-minded and driven people helped me stay focused and continue improving.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?
If there’s one thing I want people to take away from my story, it’s that it’s never over. There was a point in my life where I wasn’t where I wanted to be and didn’t have everything figured out, but I didn’t let that stop me. I made a plan, put my head down, and stayed consistent every single day.

There are always sacrifices that have to be made. That’s just part of life. You can’t get to the next level without sacrificing certain things. There were times where I questioned if it was even worth it, but I kept going. Over time, that work started to pay off.

I also want to give back to my community. I want to become a resource and help create opportunities for others, especially younger students who might feel lost or unsure of their path, because I know what that feels like. If anyone reading this is trying to better themselves or figure things out, just know that it’s possible.

At the end of the day, just keep going. Even if it feels like your work isn’t being noticed right now, it is. Keep stacking your days, stay consistent, and trust the process. I’m living proof that things can change if you’re willing to work for it.

Perimeter College has been home to an impressive number of recipients of the national Jack Kent Cooke (JKC) Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. Since 2002, 30 Perimeter students have received the competitive award from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, which offers each winner up to $55,000 per year for up to three years. It’s the country’s largest private scholarship for two-year and community college transfer students. Perimeter JKC winners have succeeded in bachelor’s degree programs (and beyond) at Georgia State University and other prominent institutions such as Yale, Georgia Tech, MIT, Emory University, Howard University, University of Southern California, Stanford University and Agnes Scott College.